The Buzz
by Trim59
Summary: Andre writes an advice column in "The Buzz", Hollywood Arts newspaper.  Tori writes to Andre...about how he loves him...and Andre starts unknowingly giving her advice.  Beck and Jade also write him...and not about each other.  Tandre/Bade/Cabbie R
1. Letters

**A/N: Hello…I'm back again. First off, I've been having some serious creative block when it comes to unique and cool story ideas. **

**So…once again…this was a simple but great idea that the amazing writer 506thpir gave me…she is really an inspiration. To all you Tandre shippers out there…please show her stories some love and read and review…she is an amazing writer and she has helped me out a lot without asking for anything in return…**

**Thank you Jenna = )…I mean…506thpir lol…**

**Anyways, in response to a few private messages I have received. Yes I am a 20 year old guy…and yes I am straight…not that it matters... some of my best friends are gay…but for some reason its a lot harder for ppl to believe i'm straight than the fact that I'm a guy lol…and to one girl that asked…or pretty much stated "that I must be like skinny and wear glasses" nope sorry…I'm in the military and I've been involved in athletics since about 12…and i'm about 225 lbs. …and I don't wear glasses lmao…and I can already see the next set of questions that come…so nope I'm not fat…mum…a few of my friends say I look a little like and i'm built like John Cena…but a five foot nine version…not six foot something lol…I wonder if John Cena writes fanfiction lol…anyways that's just for some of you that were wondering lol…**

**One last thing…thank all you readers and reviewers that help my break 100 review on my story "Roses"…and thank you to the one person who randomly flamed…but I'm not sure why but ehhh…whatever…Also, I know this first chapter might seem a little bit weird…and trust me….this story ships are TANDRE, BADE, and CABBIE…I repeat…the ships for this story are TANDRE, BADE, AND CABBIE…eventually lol**

**This is just the initial set up chapter…setting up the story and the drama…but I hope you guys review and let me know how you like it so far…and that's about it. Thank you, Trim59.**

The Buzz

Chapter 1

Letters

Andre was a talented man. He was an good athlete. While he may not have been one of the best drama club members at Hollywood Arts, he was still a solid actor and was constantly improving. It was well known that he was an incredible songwriter and musician. However, not many people knew until a few months prior how talented of a writer Andre was. Well, more of an advice giver than a writer…and all of his friends knew that. Regardless, it had been about three months since Andre's debut as a writer came in the Hollywood Arts weekly newspaper, "The Buzz".

It was a simple concept. His article was "Ask Andre" and he gave advice in his column. The people who wrote were usually anonymous and Andre's advice was always insightful and worth following, but that wasn't the reason it became one of the most popular things at Hollywood Arts after the first few weeks. It was the drama, and some of the questions he got were incredibly juicy and ironically, had the school "buzzing" every week. Usually, it was a guy or girl that was quite smitten with a member of the opposite sex…and most of the student body wondered who the lovesick person was. Of course, the identity of the crushee and not just the crusher was also a commonly debated and discussed topic. Before the first month was over Andre's general advice column had become only about romance, and it was getting so popular that Andre was now responding to multiple letters every week and it had its own page in "The Buzz" dedicated to it.

**THE BUZZ**

If it was possible, Jade would have punched herself in her face. Well, it was possible…but you get the point. She felt like a stupid adolescent girl that would write about all her feelings and the struggles of growing up in her diary. Regardless, she had tried to come to her own conclusions and resolutions in her head for a while now. She was getting nowhere. She would have asked Andre in person for advice, but her own pride was stopping her. She started to move the pen along the paper as she knew there was no other way if she really wanted help. If there was any other option…any at all…she would have taken it.

_Dear Andre,_

_I am female first of all. Here's my problem:_

_I have been dating my boyfriend for a while now. He makes me happy. He loves me. I love him. We are almost polar opposites…from different sides of the tracks, yin and yang, black and white, fire and ice, or whatever you want to call it. And to be honest it's a big turn on and one of the reasons I initially went out with him._

_But the problem is this: I love him…but I'm not sure if I'm in love with him…and I think I'm in love with someone else._

_Even worse, the person I' think I'm falling for I hate. He's a loser. He has no spine and lets people walk all over him. He's a coward. He has the emotional mindset of a 13 year old girl. He is attractive, but the way he dresses could make Tom Cruise look ugly. He is annoying. Basically, he's pathetic in almost aspect of the word. I mean he has a puppet. A freaking puppet. Yes, if it's not already obvious enough I think I love Robbie Shapiro._

_Robbie Shapiro_

_What do I do…besides go to a pysch ward? _

_Sincerely,_

_Girl who almost hopes you don't actually respond to this_

**THE BUZZ**

Beck let out a big sigh as he peered down at the letter he had just finished writing. Putting the envelope down beside the letter, Beck picked up the letter. He figured he might as well read it over again.

_Andre,_

_I'm a guy. Here's my problem: I love my girlfriend and I don't want to hurt her. Well that's not really the entire problem. The problem is I don't think I want to be with her anymore. Let me explain before you make any assumptions._

_She is amazing and I know she cares and loves me even though she doesn't always show it. She is definitely not the type of girl to wear her emotions on her sleeves. She is much more opted to show me that she cares by kissing me, caressing me, or by other means of physical contact. She rarely explains her feelings or actually wants to have meaningful conversations. Who knows, maybe I'm the girl and she's the guy in this relationship?_

_Anyways, to add to the problem there is another girl._

_I love my girlfriend, but this other girl is everything my girlfriend is not. She's spontaneous, fun loving, eccentric, and wears her heart on her sleeve. She might be a little bit crazy…but just being around her is like a breathe of fresh air. I don't know if I just love my girlfriend or I'm in love with her. Furthermore, I don't know if i just like this other girl, or it's something more, but one thing is for sure…_

_I have a huge crush on Cat Valentine._

_What do I do?_

_-A Guy_

With trembling hands, Beck folded up the letter and placed it in the envelope. Before he had second thoughts, Beck quickly sealed the letter.

**THE BUZZ**

_Dear Andre,_

_I am a girl here at Hollywood Arts. My problem is I'm head over heels for this guy._

_First off, I'll go with the obvious. _

_He is beautiful. He has a body of a star athlete. He's tall, dark, and handsome. He's pretty much a heart throb and he might not realize it but girls swoon at the mention of him when he's not around. He's really popular…not that it plays a factor in this because I am fairly well liked in school…but I just thought I'd throw that in._

_Now I know that might just sound like a crush but that's not all. He is the most caring person I have ever met. Any time I have ever gone through something rough he has always been there for me. I love having him as a friend. He makes me smile and laugh more than any other person and I could go on like this until I kill every tree in the world._

_Yep, if you haven't picked up on it I'm in love with one of my best friends. The problem is it feels like I'm dying a little bit each day having him around and pretending like I'm satisfied just by being his friend. He doesn't even have a clue about how I feel. I don't want to lose him. If I did I think I would die. That's why I'm so afraid to try to initiate anything or even make the first move on him. _

_I know your not a girl…but what would you do? And by that I mean- how should I try to let him know how I feel without scaring or chasing him away. Thank you._

_Sincerely,_

_A girl_

Tori had barely taken a breathe since she started reading her letter. Without a doubt, this was the craziest thing she had ever done. So crazy that it could possibly work.

**THE BUZZ**

Andre let out a huge sigh as he ran his heads through his hair. Looking down at the three letters he just finished reading at his desk, Andre shook his head. This was going to be hard…and it didn't help that two of the letters were pertaining to his close friends. He didn't waste time and immediately started his response to "a girl that almost hoped he didn't respond".


	2. Monday

**Disclaimer: I'm supposed to put one of these right? Yeah…I'm not Dan Schneider…I don' t own Victorious…or Drake and Josh, or Zoey 101, or iCarly, or All That, or The Amanda Show, or Moody's Point, or What I Like About You, or Schneider's Bakery, or DanWarp,…i don't own anything…besides the stuff I own …which isn't this...**

**A/N: Don't got much to ramble about on my mind write now…so please R&R and here are the SHOUTOUTS!**

**Xx-Channy-Seddie-Cailey-xX - Haha thank you for your compliments…and yes I am always open to ideas…so there is no harm in sending me as many ideas as you want in private messages…just don't get mad if i don't write a story about them…but I'm always open to hear ideas if someone is more of a reader than a writer…and might have an idea they would want as a story lol….once again thanks for reviewing…i hope you keep reading and let me know what you think.**

**JTPhoenix19 - Yeah i'm a little sorry for that ex girlfriend story I gave you as your shout out in the last chapter of Roses lmao…I went on a major tangent there…but I'm glad you kind of got what I was trying to get at. As far as the JOBBIE…omg JOBBIE (GAG!)…it is the love hate relationship thing…but it is IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM LIKE SEDDIE…okay…I don't want to give a lot away because the story will cover it…but it has to deal just with curiosity…and somewhat about Jade's insecurities (in my own mind)…things are good with Beck…they are really good…and most importantly: THEY WORK…even though they are opposites…and even though maybe it (BADE) shouldn't work as well as it does…and we all know Jade hates a lot of things…or maybe she's just scared of a lot of things…IF she is scared of why things are working so well when they maybe shouldn't (Beck)…she might subconsciously get drawn towards what she is used to…hating things (like Tori or panties)…but she still probably wears them and hangs around Tori…she kind of likes hating things (…Robbie?)…okay that was a tangent too…and i will try to explain better…in the story….i hope you enjoy…and please continue to R&R…all i was trying to say it is has a point…its not just a random pairing…i hope you have a little faith and let your initial "NEVER OMG…THAT'S OOC!" sit in the backseat and enjoy the ride lol…once again thanks.**

**Boris Yeltsin- Hey I've been meaning to reply to your questions but haven't gotten around to it sorry. First off…favorite pairings…in no particular order…Dana and Logan, Choey (Zoey 101)…Seddie (iCarly)…and Cabbie and Tandre (Victorious)…and yes I am open to ideas…of course =D…private message me! And I hope you continue to read and review friend…thank you.**

**506thpir- We talk so much I don't know what to say in the shout out lol…hmmm…thank you for your great ideas once again darlin…and umm…thanks for being my ride or die buddy and having faith =) **

**Courtney4713- I'm glad that you thought this was really interesting/has the potential to be really interesting…and I did my best to continue to lay the groundwork for this story and start to weave the outlines of what will be a web of hurt, comfort, angst, romance, misunderstanding, and …well just a lot of juicy shit really lmao…sorry for the language. I hope you enjoy this chapter…and I hope you review and let me know what you think.**

**LizGilliesFan- Even though you had constructive criticism, I'm glad that you liked it overall. I agree with you to be honest…the initial chapter had moments that were OOC…but please have a little faith…and I think you can see in this chapter that there is more to it that me just trying to make Jade Robbie a SEDDIE…cause it isn't I know that…I am a Bade fan myself…well really…i'm just a major Tandre (and Cabbie)…but I enjoy the mutual respect and stalemate that Bade and Tandre seems to have in the shipping war…and I enjoy the fact that we can unite and crush Tori X Beck shippers…lol jk…no offense intended to those people. THANK YOU…I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think.**

**Twinkle toes tonight- Thank you for the kind words and here's an update for you…i hope you continue to R&R. Thank you.**

**Without further adu, I bring to you…chapter 2 lol...**

The Buzz

Chapter 2

Monday

Tori had a little secret. She absolutely hated Mondays. They were the end of the weekend, the start of the week, and by far the longest days. However, Mondays had another reason to be despised by Tori when Andre started his column for The Buzz. The reason was that all the writers had to finish up their articles by Sunday and send them into the chief editor for the paper. Monday morning was when everyone did a final read through and approval to catch any errors the chief editor didn't. After all, a hundred eyes are better than two. Afterwards, the paper was finally printed out and started being distributed around the school. Usually, it wasn't until lunch…and Andre usually missed Sikowitzs' class he shared with Tori and his other friends. Today was one of those typical Mondays where Tori didn't get to enjoy Andre's company to get her through her morning.

It wasn't that big of a surprise that the entire group, minus Andre, saw people forming around where newspaper members were handing out the newest issue of "The Buzz" during lunch. Moments after they all sat down at their usual table, Cat balled her hands up and giggled as she bounced in her seat a little.

"Oh! I gotta go get one!" Cat shouted.

"Just wait a minute, " Jade spat out, her voice holding more venom towards Cat, one of her closest friends, then it usually did towards Tori when they were in an argument. In fact, everyone had noticed that Jade had been on edge all day and was snapping at the smallest things.

Beck looked from Cat to his girlfriend beside him with a frown on his face. Even before his little crush on "Little Red", Beck still found it irritating how rude Jade could be even to her closest friends.

Even though it had become the accepted behavior for Jade that day, it still caught Cat off guard. Immediately, Cat dropped her hands into her lap and pouted at Jade as she looked like she was honestly about to cry. Jade let out a huge sigh, but the scowl did fall off her face as she stared at Cat. "I'm sorry Cat…I just meant that Andre is going to bring us one anyway."

Cat was silent for a few seconds to allow Jade to say anything else she might want to. She had nothing to add to the apology. Slowly, Cat's frown dimmed and she nodded her head as she looked down at her hands in her laps.

Almost on cue, everyone's focus went to beside Tori as the young pianist plopped down beside her. "What's up guys?"

The entire group offered Andre a welcome and Cat held out her hand towards Andre, who did have a few copies of The Buzz with him. Cat's frown returned when Andre hesitated and didn't immediately hand her one, "Come on Andre…gimme!"

Andre clenched his jaw and let out a sigh. "Cat…I don't know if you want to read this one…you might not like it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cat screamed, and her eyes immediately grew even larger. "Did you write something mean about me?"

"No…no!" Andre retorted. "It's just…it kind of about you."

"Ohhh!" Cat exclaimed, almost as a question as she covered up her mouth with her hand.

Andre nodded his head, and then pointed it in the general direction of Robbie. "And about you."

"Me?" Robbie squeaked, knowing that the subject of "Ask Andre" was always people crushing on other people and asking for advice.

"Yep," Andre replied casually.

"It probably from Julio, that…guy from the week you took ballet class." Rex shouted out.

"Shut up!" Robbie squeezed through clenched teeth at his miniature friend resting beside him on the table. "I told you to never speak about that!"

"He said Robbie had nice legs." Rex said in a funny tone. The rest of the table, even Jade, let out a laugh at Robbie's face.

"I…I was wearing tights! I didn't have a choice!" Robbie squealed.

"Sure," Rex replied, "Well maybe it wouldn't have been an issue if you didn't take a class meant for girls Robilee!"

Robbie shot Rex a death stare after having his name twisted into a female version by his puppet.

Thanks to Robbie and Rex's temporary distraction, Tori quickly snagged a copy of The Buzz out of Andre's hand.

The table's attention fell on the two as Andre let out a shocked, "Hey!"

Tori giggled and smiled, and leaned over to rest her head on Andre's shoulder for a second as she said, "Thank you." in the sweetest voice she had.

Andre immediately returned the smile and no longer cared that Tori had basically pick pocketed him. Still, he held his breathe a little bit even after Tori finally removed her head from his shoulder. It was only because he was nervous about what Robbie and Cat's response to the letters about them in the article would be, that was the only possible reason that he would admit to himself on why it was now slightly hard to breathe.

"Ohhh, read it, read it, read it!" Cat exclaimed. Robbie nodded his head in agreement with a nervous look on his face.

Tori hesitated for a moment and looked at Andre. Andre assumed it was only because she wanted to make sure he was okay with it before she started. Slowly, Andre nodded. As Tori coughed to clear her throat, Andre stared across the table at Beck and Jade. They seemed extremely disinterested all of a sudden as Jade went back to eating her lunch and Beck pulled out his cellphone and started texting. Andre saw right through their fronts. He KNEW that Jade and Beck, of all people, should have been the most interested, at least about two thirds of the article. Furthermore, he knew they were listening to every word that Tori was about to divulge. Andre closely watched the four people sitting around the table as Tori began to read his article beside him.

_Andre,_

_I'm a guy. Here's my problem: I love my girlfriend and I don't want to hurt her. Well that's not really the entire problem. The problem is I don't think I want to be with her anymore. Let me explain before you make any assumptions._

_She is amazing and I know she cares and loves me even though she doesn't always show it. She is definitely not the type of girl to wear her emotions on her sleeves. She is much more opted to show me that she cares by kissing me, caressing me, or by other means of physical contact. She rarely explains her feelings or actually wants to have meaningful conversations. Who knows, maybe I'm the girl and she's the guy in this relationship?_

_Anyways, to add to the problem there is another girl._

_I love my girlfriend, but this other girl is everything my girlfriend is not. She's spontaneous, fun loving, eccentric, and wears her heart on her sleeve. She might be a little bit crazy…but just being around her is like a breathe of fresh air. I don't know if I just love my girlfriend or I'm in love with her. Furthermore, I don't know if i just like this other girl, or it's something more, but one thing is for sure…_

_I have a huge crush on Cat Valentine._

_What do I do?_

_-A Guy_

**To A Guy,**

**A common misconception is that opposites attract. While this might be true in science, people who are unique from one another are a whole other story. Usually, from what I've seen, that can be completely true. Usually, it is a physical attraction, maybe even a sort of love/hate relationship. Usually, if the opposites do attract, they repel shortly afterwards.**

**With that said, I'm saying congratulations. It seems like you guys are very different from one another. In a certain respect, you guys should both be commended for having an actual relationship and making it work with your differences, and not just hooking up or having a one night stand. I just wanted to say that before I give you my opinion on your problem.**

**Okay, here's what I think:**

**It is human nature to fear, but also want change. Everything that is different about a Ms. Cat Valentine versus your girlfriend…it seems like it is more similar to how you are.**

**The small problem I have with giving you advice is I can't tell if it's because the opposites are finally starting to repel. Do you want someone more similar to you, someone more along the same emotional wavelength? Or…is it more along the lines of wanting what you can't have or just curiosity. Cat seems to be what your girlfriend isn't, and you have your girlfriend…you can only wonder about what it's like to have Cat. If the latter is the case, it is only human (and guy) nature.**

**The sad thing is only you know which one it is. I know that you may not clearly known which one it is yet, and that's why you are asking for advice. So, here is my advice…don't let this response have you act a certain way. Do not try to push your girlfriend away because you think you want to be with Cat, do not try to push Cat away because you feel like your betraying your girlfriend, and most certainly do not try to play them off each other. However, I'm certain that if you continue along the path you have that has led you to this point…even though you may stay confused for a while longer…your heart will lead you in the right direction.**

**I hope this helps, **

**Andre**

Tori looked up towards her friends around the table once she completed the first letter and Andre's response. Cat's mouth was open and her face didn't move as her eyes darted around. Cat's face held bits of excitement, nervousness, and curiosity, but the emotion winning out on her face was shock as a small blush crossed her face.

"Who do you think it is?" Robbie said, his voice holding the slightest hint of jealousy as he stared at Andre. Completely lying, Andre shrugged his shoulders.

"Ohhh," Tori said, trying to keep the conversation going as she had already glanced the entire article before starting to read, and was nervous about reading the third letter and Andre's response in its entirety. "Do you think it's that guy from study hall?"

Cat smiled and let out a giggle. Feeling eyes on her, Cat looked across the table and met glances with Robbie. The smile fell off her face as she looked at Robbie. His face was rather stoic and didn't show any strong signs of emotions, but the redhead could swear she could see a little bit of pain or hurt in his eyes. Before her mind could wonder or she could ask Robbie if he was okay, Beck looked up from his cellphone for the first time since Tori began reading.

"Are there more letters?" Beck said in a rushed voice, "Or just that one?"

"Yes," Andre said with a nod, trying to come to his friends aid because he knew he was uncomfortable. "Want to read the next one?" Andre questioned as he looked at Tori. Tori nodded.

_Dear Andre,_

_I am female first of all. Here's my problem:_

_I have been dating my boyfriend for a while now. He makes me happy. He loves me. I love him. We are almost polar opposites…from different sides of the tracks, yin and yang, black and white, fire and ice, or whatever you want to call it. And to be honest it's a big turn on and one of the reasons I initially went out with him._

_But the problem is this: I love him…but I'm not sure if I'm in love with him…and I think I'm in love with someone else._

_Even worse, the person I' think I'm falling for I hate. He's a loser. He has no spine and lets people walk all over him. He's a coward. He has the emotional mindset of a 13 year old girl. He is attractive, but the way he dresses could make Tom Cruise look ugly. He is annoying. Basically, he's pathetic in almost aspect of the word. I mean he has a puppet. A freaking puppet. Yes, if it's not already obvious enough I think I love Robbie Shapiro._

Robbie let out a huge cough and let his jaw drop. Everyone knew that he would have had Rex make some statement about how he was surprised it was actually a girl, if he wasn't in complete shock.

_Robbie Shapiro_

_What do I do…besides go to a pysch ward? _

_Sincerely,_

_Girl who almost hopes you don't actually respond to this_

"That was," Robbie started as he twisted his face up into a look of disapproval, "More mean than flattering though!"

Jade laughed at Robbie's comment. Jade came to the girl who wrote the letters aid, although only two people at the table knew she was defending herself. "She kind of has a point."

Robbie's face twisted further as a huge frown appeared on his face.

"You are pretty pathetic at times." Jade continued. "Jade!" Beck whispered in a harsh tone as he looked at Jade, and then frowned at Robbie as if to say sorry.

"You know what?" Robbie replied.

"What?" Jade returned even louder as she leaned forward in her seat.

As loud as possible, Tori began reading Andre's reply.

**Dear Girl who almost hoped I didn't respond,**

After the first few words, when Jade and Robbie both fell silent, Tori dropped her voice down to a normal level.

**First off, and with no disrespect, if you haven't read my reply to "A Guy's" letter above you should definitely do so. You seem to be in a somewhat similar situation, but I would say your love or infatuation with a Mr. Robbie Shapiro stems from the love/hate principle. Also, you said that the fact you and your boyfriend were complete opposites and from "different sides of the tracks" was a big turn on. Personally, I am good friends Robbie and I can say the following. The initial impression I got about your boyfriend, and you saying he's completely opposite of you (as long as you aren't talking merely personality), that leads me to believe that Robbie Shapiro is also somewhere alone the line of being your polar opposite. Deep down, that could also be a major turn on for you, just as it is with your current boyfriend.**

**Next, the issue I have with you saying you "love" Robbie Shapiro. I have two potential ideas:**

**1) With the way you spent degrading and belittling him in the paragraph up to admitting your "love"…it is obvious that you don' t love him. No one loves a person but will belittle and pick out everyone of their flaws. **

**One of my other good friends, Jade West, is a perfect example of this. Deep down, she is a great person. However, as you may even know…she is cold on the surface and is not the nicest person in the world.**

Jade scoffed loudly and shot Andre a heated stare. She was too busy staring down Andre as he shrugged his shoulder to notice the smirk on Robbie's face.

**Regardless, she treats her boyfriend Beck with amazing respect and loves him. I didn't put apostrophes around that love because I know she does. In fact, regardless of how cold she can be to even her close friends, she always warms up and is affectionate and caring to her boyfriend.**

Jade fought back successfully against a blush as she looked over at smiled at Beck. The nervousness they both held ebbed away for a few seconds as they stared into each others eyes. Quickly, they shared a small kiss before turning their attention back to Tori.

**Simply put, you have an infatuation with someone that you despise but your not completely sure why…and to be honest, there may be a little sexual tension between the two of you. You even said, and I quote, "He is attractive," before you went on to insult him further.**

**2) This one is much simpler. You may be head over heels with Robbie, but you refuse to admit it. If that's the case, you remind me a lot of my friends Sam and Freddie. Yes, I am talking about 2/3 of the incredibly talented crew of iCarly…and everyone loves and watches their webcasts. So, with that being said, you probably know from this past Saturday night's broadcast's big surprise moment how they turned out.**

**The thing I don't like about this idea is that I have no idea though. I'm reading your words off a paper. I can't tell if there is any deeper meaning behind them. I don't know who you are.**

Jade swallowed back hard as she noticed how intently Andre was staring at her.

**I have never seen you interact with Robbie. So, I guess only you know if this idea holds any weight.**

Andre had not blinked or broke his eye contact, which caused Jade's exterior to crack as she shifted slight in her seat. "What?" Jade quickly mouthed to Andre.

**Only you can determine if it is number one or number two…or something else completely.**

Andre shook his head and tilted it slightly as he gave her an all knowing look. Jade's eyes bulged as she quickly took a gulp of her drink. There was NO way that he knew, right?

**Regardless, you seem to be a straight shooter. Therefore, I'm not going to sugarcoat it or give you some advice like "follow your heart". I see that you have one of two simple options:**

**1) Act on it…see if there is any love in the love/hate relationship…or if its just hate contorted and confused by teenager hormones.**

**OR…**

**2)Don't act on it…and wonder what if.**

"Wow" Tori said as she looked at Andre. "I love your articles!"

Andre shot her a smile.

"And not just because of the drama," Tori continued as she placed her closest hand on his shoulder, "You give amazing advice!"

Andre felt heat cross his cheeks as his smile grew even larger. "Thank you Tori."

Tori smiled and nodded her head.

"There's one more letter." Andre said quickly, and Tori nodded and returned her hand to holding the other side of the newspaper. Andre slapped himself in his head. Why was it that he always got so awkward and tried to minimize any physical contact with Tori. Any time they hugged, poked each other, or would even lean against one another, no matter how slight, he was always the one to say something random that ended the contact.

_Dear Andre,_

_I am a girl here at Hollywood Arts. My problem is I'm head over heels for this guy._

_First off, I'll go with the obvious. _

_He is beautiful. He has a body of a star athlete. He's tall, dark, and handsome. He's pretty much a heart throb and he might not realize it but girls swoon at the mention of him when he's not around. He's really popular…not that it plays a factor in this because I am fairly well liked in school…but I just thought I'd throw that in._

_Now I know that might just sound like a crush but that's not all. He is the most caring person I have ever met. Any time I have ever gone through something rough he has always been there for me. I love having him as a friend. He makes me smile and laugh more than any other person and I could go on like this until I kill every tree in the world._

_Yep, if you haven't picked up on it I'm in love with one of my best friends. The problem is it feels like I'm dying a little bit each day having him around and pretending like I'm satisfied just by being his friend. He doesn't even have a clue about how I feel. I don't want to lose him. If I did I think I would die. That's why I'm so afraid to try to initiate anything or even make the first move on him. _

_I know your not a girl…but what would you do? And by that I mean- how should I try to let him know how I feel without scaring or chasing him away. Thank you._

_Sincerely,_

_A girl_

No one had said anything since the last letter was the least juicy, although it did have the unfair advantage of the first two letter talking about one of the group. About halfway through the letter, right when it got to the tall, dark, and handsome part, Jade knew it was Tori that wrote the letter, and knew it was about Andre. If Andre did actually know that she had written the first letter, it was because she hadn't done a good enough job preventing her sometimes less than ecstatic and positive personality from jumping off the page. With that said, Tori's naive, optimistic, and nauseatingly happy mood showed in the letter, and Jade knew it was obviously Tori before she even got to the point that crushed any single doubt Jade could have.

Jade had spent the rest of the time Tori read the letter focusing closely on everyone's behavior. She was looking for any looks of realization, any looks that said "oh my god", or anything at all that gave away that they all weren't as dense as she thought. She looked, and she saw nothing.

When Tori finally looked back up at the table once she finished reading the letter, Jade shot her a fierce stare that gained her attention. To say as much as she could with only body language, Jade let a tiny smirk on her face grow by the millisecond as she begun to tilt her head and raise her eyebrows. Tori fought back against the lump in her throat. Tori KNEW that look. There was no possible way that Jade knew she wrote that letter, or that it was about Andre, right? Stuttering and stumbling over the first few syllables, Tori began reading Andre's reply.

**Dear Girl,**

**First off, thank you for writing. I just want you to know that there was no reason for you to try to defend yourself when you explained how you were physically attracted to this guy. Every single person, regardless of how fickle or deep, can become romantically interested in someone from their physical appearance. While there are many things that are important in relationships, physical attraction and looks play a major part in them all.**

**Okay, now on to your problem…**

**I can really relate to the issue you are having. One time, I was in love a close female friend, and I went through the same struggle in my head.**

Tori looked at Andre briefly out of the corner of her eyes. Fighting against a little jealously flare up, Tori managed to keep going without a hiccup. Regardless, she still wondered who the girl that was Andre's friend was. Was it Cat? It had to be…she saw the video they were both in on TheSlap. In fact, she had even watched the ending, where Cat rested her head against Andre's as they both smiled at each other, over a dozen times.

Jade fought back against a maniacal laugh as she looked and gained mutual eye contact with Andre. She was eating this up. She still didn't know if Andre actually knew she was the composer of the first letter. However, the fact she knew Tori was the writer of this letter…and the fact she knew that Andre's "close female friend" he was in love with was Tori…and Andre was lying by talking in the past tense…caused Jade to feel a little like Cat, as she felt like bouncing up and down in her seat with happiness. Pulling the same trick she had on Tori, as she raised her eyebrows and let the smirk grow on her face as she shot Andre the same "I know" look he had given her minutes before.

Andre's eyes bulged and he quickly dropped his eyes and pretended to be focused on the newspaper Tori was reading. There was no way Jade knew, right?

**Unfortunately, I was to scared of losing her friendship to try to see if there was something more to us. So yes, we are still friends and I am happy about that, but I am forever stuck wondering what if. So, Ms. Girl, I refuse to allow you to suffer the same fate. Trust me when I say that while it is scary to think about risking your friendship to see if there is something more with someone you love…and ending up with nothing at all…it is much worse than wondering forever.**

Tori was to caught up in reading Andre's response to her letter, and she didn't notice the small "Awww!" that escaped from Cat's lip towards his heartfelt response. Andre did however, and he stared across the table at him as she stared back. A look of sadness and pity on both of their faces could easily have been misinterpreted for regret. Tori was the only one that misinterpreted it, as she looked up briefly and noticed the look between her two friends. She had missed the comment by Cat, but she certainly didn't miss the look Cat and Andre shared. She just missed the mark on the reason why they were looking at each other. Tori paused for a brief second as she felt a slight stinging in her throat as she swallowed back. Telling herself she didn't care, even though she didn't fool herself for half a second, she continued reading Andre's response.

**So I will give you advice. Please, please, please, fight back your fears and take a leap of faith. Yes, I am not just giving you advice, I am straight up begging you to take the next step. But I will help you…here's what I think you should do to start taking the next step.**

**Start flirting with him. I'm sure that since you love him and are so attracted to him that you already do, but you have found this comfortable zone that you get some enjoyment out of because you still get to hug him, tickle him, basically just have physical contact with him or borderline flirty conversation…but its still innocent enough and you are both used to it that you don't have to fear him catching one. **

**Step it up a notch, but with caution. You can't go from innocent borderline cuddling on a couch when you watch television for example…to sitting on his lap during lunch and asking him to take his shirt off so you can see what all the work in the gym has done for him. I know that sounds a bit ridiculous but I just wanted to get the point across. You don't want to scare him. Unless he feels the same exact way that you do and he's hiding it just like you are, going to extreme may result in ruining the friendship. So be careful, but I would say step it up. That's how girls that I thought only liked me as a friend in the past got my attention, at least the ones I went out with anyways. A tap on the shoulder or just a wave when we passed in the hall would become a hug, always. The quick hug would become one that they made last a couple more seconds than necessary, so I would notice. Those are just a few examples.**

**What I'm trying to say is this. If sometimes you interlock arms when you walk, hold his hand instead. If sometimes you lean on him when he makes you laugh, grab onto his neck or chest when you do it as well. If you occasionally do sit on his lap, when there aren't any more seats or something, maybe sit deeper into his lap and rest more weight on him instead of the tip of his knees like he's your grandfather. These are just a few ideas…and a few things that will start to get his gears turning and have him wondering, unless he is the densest guy in the world.**

**I hope this helps, and I hope to get another letter from you in the future, hopefully telling me that you succeeded where I did not.**

**-Andre Harris**

An awkward silence fell between the table for the remainder of their lunch period when Tori finished reading the article. Robbie balanced his time between eating his food and shooting Jade aggravated glances. Jade juggled making Tori and Andre shift uncomfortable in their seats as she shot them her skeptical glance, and smirking at Robbie when she'd catch him giving her an upset look out of the corner of his eye and he would return his attention to the food in front of him as soon as she would look his way. Tori tried to avoid Jade's stares and kept staring at Andre and Cat to see if they shared any more looks or "moments". Andre spent his time trying not to allow Jade's actions to affect him to much, and retaliated by returning the same "I know" look in her direction. Cat balanced looking around the table trying to figure out what was going on and eating her lunch, she loved tacos. Beck texted himself in favor of trying to figure out the cause of the obvious uncomfortableness in the air they could all fear.

The bell calling an end to their lunch period was heard as most of the people around them began to move. Their table seemed to be the slowest as they all gathered up their trays, trash, and belongings. Andre and Jade were the last two sitting as the rest of their group started to stand up from the table.

"We need to talk," Andre said.

"Alone." Jade replied.


	3. A Break?  Aggressive Flirting

**A/N: Okay so no shout outs this chapter…I write the chapter first and then do the shout outs before I post it…but I feel pretty crappy right now and got a KILLER HEAD ACHE…so i will shout out everyone who reviewed last chapter and this one in the beginning of next chapter.**

**Ughhh, yeah I don't even feel like ranting right now. Thanks…enjoy, Trim59**

The Buzz

Chapter 3

A Break / Agressive Flirting

Once they had found a place where there was nobody around, Jade stopped and placed her hands on her hip. "What?" She asked coldly.

"I know you wrote that-" Andre started but got cut off by Jade.

"I know you were talking about Tori!" Jade exclaimed as she refused to let Andre finish his statement. Andre's eyes bulged almost out of his head.

"What?" Andre replied in a shocked tone.

"And that you were completely lying!" Jade said. She removed her hands from her hips and crossed them along her chest before continuing. "And I know that you still feel that way…so using the whole past tense…at one time i felt this way…blah blah blah…that's a complete lie to!"

Andre let out a soft sigh Jade could not hear as he lowered his head. Mimicking Jade's earlier body position, Andre placed both hands on his hips as he stared at the ground.

Jade was obviously enraged, even though it was by no means Andre's fault that she wrote him the letter, only that he figured out it was her. This caused her to continue speaking her mind as brutally as she could. "You are almost as pathetic as Robby…you have a lot more going for you than him…and you are still petrified to tell Tori h-"

"That it, stop!" Andre exclaimed as he finally raised his eyes up to look at Jade and dropped his hands from his hip. Andre's sudden change in emotion to match her own caught Jade off guard. "You can say what you want about me…but I'm not going to have you insult Robbie again like you did in the letter…he's one of my best friends."

Jade tightened her lips as she looked at the ground for a second. Sometimes, it took someone being as rude or angry as she was most of the time to make her realize how she was acting.

Now it was Andre's turn to vent, as he continued speaking in an upset tone. "Which brings up the next question…why the hell did you write that letter anyways if you hate him so much. You guys are not like Sam and Freddie you know that right?"

Jade put her hands back on her hips and turned her head to one side as she refused to look at Andre. Her only reply was a scoff as Andre kept talking.

"Or is this…just…" Andre shook his head. When he continued talking, the anger had fallen off his voice and it returned to a normal volume. "Some kind of sick game you are playing? Everything is going well with Beck…too well with Beck…and we all know you love drama so m-"

"Okay that's it, you stop!" Jade spat out. Andre let a small frown form on his face as he realized how rude he had been. Almost as if they had reached a mutual understanding, Jade wiped her words free of the hatred and lowered her voice again. "I…I don't know Andre…maybe…maybe you are ri-"

"No…no stop," Andre said as he cut Jade off, but this time his tone only held understanding and kindness. "What I said was uncalled for…for real. But…why…why did you write that?"

"I. Don't. Know." Jade said in a clearly irritated and frustrated tone as she shook her head at Andre.

Andre let out a sigh as he nodded his head. "Okay…well…are things not going as well between Beck and you as we-"

"They are fine!" Jade said again, her tone growing angrier.

"Okay, sorry," Andre replied as he held out one hand in front of him.

"Look this conversation is over." Jade replied coldly.

Andre tilted his head to the side, slightly, "But-"

"Over," Jade said again, giving Andre a flick of her wrist as she rolled her eyes. She took a few steps but she stopped before she had really began, and turned her body to face Andre. She pointed one finger on her right hand at Andre to make what she was saying as clear as possible. "Forget this conversation happened, forget I wrote you that letter…or I'll tell Tori that what you wrote to…that girl…is about her."

Andre's mouth fell open as a look of shock spread across his face. What the hell was wrong with him. It was ironic that he said in his letter that the advice he gave Tori would work, unless the guy was the densest human being in the world. The advice was about him…and sometimes he WAS the densest person in the world. Regardless, it worked to Jade's advantage. The threat Andre thought would only hurt Tori and ruin their friendship would actually finally end the two teenagers tip toeing around each other and suffering in silence. Andre was just to dense at times to realize this. Tori was just as bad…but that was a whole other topic.

"You wouldn-" Andre didn't even get to finish his statement as Jade replied with, "I would."

Without saying another word, Jade took a step forward and grabbed one of the copies of The Buzz the young male was still holding. Scanning the letter from Tori, Jade shook his head.

"You know…I don't care how good you are at giving people advice, because I don't want your advice anymore." Jade said without removing her eyes from the paper. Finally, she looked up as she let go of the newspaper and it hit Andre's torso before falling to the ground. "And I don't even know how…when you clearly are lost about your own…" Jade rolled her eyes. "Romantic endeavors…"

Walking off, Jade muttered, "You are the densest guy in the world." However, Andre caught wind of what Jade had said.

"What do you mean?" Andre said, growing very interested by Jade's behavior.

Jade shook her head, still not facing Andre. "I don't have the right to tell you."

Andre let out a scoff. "Like that's ever stopped you before Jade."

Jade turned her head and shot Andre a look as if to say "okay, you got me there".

"Maybe…I just don't want to tell you." Jade said.

Without explaining further, Jade walked off as Andre watched her leave.

**THE BUZZ**

Andre used his athleticism to his full benefit as he weaved through students in the packed hall. He had to find Beck and he had to hurry. The bell ending the school day had just rung, and Jade and Beck always met up about 5-10 minutes afterwards. It was a small window. Sure, Jade had threat was near the front of his mind. Despite that, he wasn't going to bring up the fact that Beck's girlfriend also wrote him. He only wanted to talk to Beck about his own letter. He wouldn't even bring up Jade at all if it was possible. He weaved through the last group of students between him and his target, as he saw Beck in front of his locker.

Andre patted Beck on the back as he came up behind him, and stopped a few feet beside him. "Hey man."

"Hey," Beck said as he balanced his attention between putting his books away and Andre, "what's up?"

"I need to talk to you man."

"Okay, shoot." Beck said as he thought nothing of it.

Andre scanned the hallway and decided a less populated area between two long rows of locker would be the best location. Nodding towards the general direction he wanted Beck to follow him in, Andre said, "Over here."

"Just…" Beck said, with the slightest bit of irritation in his voice as he managed to catch a few books that fell back out of his locker. "Tell me here. What's up?"

Andre shook his head, hoping that Beck wasn't going to give him a hassle. He knew he didn't have time. Taking a step towards Beck, so no one else would hear what was said between them, Andre bluntly said, "I need to talk to you about the letter you wrote me."

Beck's eyes grew large as he stared at Andre for a couple seconds. Andre nodded to further help his point that he knew. Without replying, Beck shoved his books in his locker and closed it as quickly as possible before heading down the hall with Andre where there would be more privacy.

**THE BUZZ**

"What's wrong?" Cat asked with a frown on her face as she tried to keep up with the power walking Jade. Her high heels didn't make it easy for her to keep pace with her friend as she followed about a foot and a half behind. "You have been SOOOO grouchy all-"

"Ughhh great!" Jade said throwing her hand out to her sides. "To make my day complete, my wonderful boyfriend is nowhere to be found." Jade stopped in her spot, causing Cat to almost slam into her. They both scanned the hallway, and confirmed that Beck was indeed nowhere in the general vicinity, or at his locker that was about twenty feet in front of the girls.

"Looks like we are walking Cat, come on." Jade said with a huff.

"But-but wait," Cat said. Jade turned around and gave her an irritated look.

"What?" Jade exploded in her typical fashion.

Cat pouted at Jade and tried to think of how to word her statement to prevent from further aggravating Jade. One of Cat's best friends could definitely be vicious, but she seemed to always exclude Cat from her wrath for the most part. For some reason, no one was safe today, including Cat who gulped as she saw the angry look on Jade's face.

"School just ended, like," Cat quickly looked down at her watch, "Three minutes ago! Maybe he got held up or…" Cat didn't finish her statement as she extended her neck and look down the hallway with a perplexed look on her face.

"Or…?" Jade questioned, and waited a few seconds for Cat to respond. When all Cat did was squint her eyes and continue to stare off in the distance, Jade decided to snap her back to reality, harshly. "Cat!"

"What?" Cat exclaimed back in a frightened voice. Like before, Jade threw her hands out to her sides. Cat pointed her hand towards down the hallway and Jade rolled her eyes as she looked to where Cat's finger was pointing. "Is that Beck and Jade?" Cat wasn't entirely sure herself, and took a few steps closer to try to see. She was about 90 percent sure that it was Beck, facing away from them, and Andre standing opposite of him facing her general direction. It definitely looked like them, but they were between two sets of double stacked lockers and she could only see part of their bodies as they faced each other. Jade was sure it was them, without a doubt in her mind, and her face twisted with anger. She couldn't believe it, she had warned him.

**THE BUZZ**

"Yes," Beck replied in a low voice, "It was me alright?"

"I know," Andre said. "I just…I need to know if it was just like…i don't know." Andre spun in a partial circle before turning back to face Beck. "You know? Like one of those…therapeutic letters you write…that you never send. Except…that you did send it to me…and you just hoped that no one would find out it was you?"

A few seconds of silence passed between the two as a thousand different replies ran through Beck's head. Finally, he said, "Yeah…I think?" Beck's statement came out as a question, and Andre knew that his friend really wasn't sure by the look on his face. "Like…things between me and Jade are good…we don't really fight…i mean I know-" Beck shook his head and let out a sigh. "You know what I mean, you read the letter."

Andre managed a small smirk at Beck's comment. "Yeah, I know what you mean…"

"And I know like you said…it's human nature…for your eyes," Beck held up his hands to make air quotations, "Or your heart…to wonder…but…" Again, Beck didn't finish his statement as he let out another sigh. Andre's only reply was a head nod saying that he understood. Once again, thousands upon thousands of things ran through Beck's mind. However, the only thing he managed this time was, "Man…Jade is going to kill me."

"No," Andre said as he shook his head, "Jade is not going to know…promise."

Beck nodded his head, knowing that his friend wouldn't tell anybody his secret.

"But you know what I mean," Beck said with a shake of his head, "Jade doesn't even so much as look at other guys. Hell, she barely acknowledges there existence…even friends."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Andre mumbled more clearly than he intended.

"What?" Beck said in a questioning voice.

Andre shook his head. He cursed himself internally for allowing one of his thoughts to formulate into words. "Nothing man…"

"No…" Beck said slowly, "You said…I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Andre lowered his head for a few seconds. When he raised it back up to Beck, Andre noticed his friend was still waiting anxiously for a reply.

"Yeah…I just meant…like who knows right?" Andre did his best not to stumble over his words. "It is…human nature. She might have random feelings about other guys….you know? You…shouldn't beat yourself up because you have a crush on Cat."

Beck continued staring at Andre. After about a second, Andre buckled under his stare and broke eye contact.

Beck let out a scoff. "You're lying…"

**THE BUZZ**

Tori was much more excited to get out of school, on time, than usual. So, when she got held up a few minutes so the class could finish the chapter in her last period of the day, it managed to put Tori in a rather bad mood. Tori managed to take her frustration out on the hallway though, as she stomped her feet against the ground as she walked toward the general direction of her locker. It helped, and before Tori knew it her anger ebbed away and the nervousness returned. Her locker was near Andre's locker. She always saw him at the end of the day. Plus, she thought it was the perfect time, after rereading Andre's advice he unknowingly gave to her a few times in her classes during the day, to finally initiate Andre's advice. It was the reason she was so anxious for the school day to end. It was the reason she was so excited as the clock drew closer to 2:30, and it was the reason she was so irked when she got held up even for a few minutes.

Turning the last corner she would have to make, Tori looked down the hall towards her locker. She noticed right away that all of her friends were in the general vicinity, and before her locker. Andre was there. Beck was talking to Andre. Jade was approaching the two guys with Cat following closely behind. At least she didn't have to worry about missing the opportunity to see Andre before he left school for the day. The only question she had: Why was Jade walking so quickly to reach Andre and Beck?

**THE BUZZ**

Andre refused to look up and stared only at the ground. For what seemed like hours, but was actually only a handful of seconds, Beck thought of every single thing Andre statement could have meant. His eyes looking over at Andre distracted him for a second as he noticed a copy of The Buzz was in sight, hanging partially out of his back pocket. Beck shook his head slightly, trying to regain focus and dissect what Andre said. After another second, Beck's eyes snapped back to the issue of The Buzz, then up to Andre as his mouth fell open.

With pain, hurt, disbelief, and anger being a few of the emotions showing through his words, Beck made it know to Andre that his words had betrayed him. "Jade wrote the letter about Robbie!"

Andre looked up to meet eyes with Beck with a sad look on his face. Damn his words, damn his big mouth, and most certainly damn the synapse between the two that allowed this catastrophe to happen.

"I can't," Beck spat out quickly, but stopped for a second to let out a grunt. "I cannot believe I felt bad for writing that letter about Cat!"

A loud gasp mixed with a scoff caused both Beck and Andre to snap their heads toward the sound. Both men let out a upset sigh when they saw Jade standing there.

"What?" Jade exploded, "That letter…about Cat…" Jade snapped her head at Cat and then back at Beck. "Was YOU!"

Cat let a gigantic "ahhh!" fall out of her mouth before she covered it up with both hands. Afterwards, she stood silently in place as her eyes darted between Jade and Beck.

Beck nodded his head slowly with a distraught look on his face. "Yeah Jade it-"

"I cannot fu…uhh!" Jade spat out. "You are un-"

"What, I'm unbelievable?" Beck retorted in a loud voice.

"Yes!" Jade said in a voice that overpowered Beck's in volume.

"Well, your unbelievable too!" Beck said in a voice that matched Jade's. Jade unintentionally tilted her head slightly to the side as she didn't understand her boyfriend's response. Neither one of the two lovers noticed the group of students, including Tori, that formed around them. "For writing that letter about Robbie!"

Jade let a gasp fall out of her mouth, swallowing back hard afterwards. Snapping her eyes to give Andre a heated stare, Jade took a step towards Andre. "I'm going to kill-"

"No, your not!" Beck said as he stepped in between them. "Andre didn't tell me…I found out on my own."

Jade shook her head and then bent it to look as far away from Beck as possible while she stared at the ground. Fighting against the stinging sensation in her throat and at the corner of her eyes, Jade didn't look at Beck until she gained an upper hand on her emotions. When she finally did, she looked up at Beck and said, "Well…it seems like we haven't been as truthful with each other as we thought."

Beck tightened his lips. "…Obviously not…"

"Well," Jade started, finding it harder to fight off the lump in her throat and the stinging sensation at the corner of her eyes. "I got a solution."

"What's that?" Beck questioned in a mixed toned holding indifference and fear.

"I say," Jade said as she took a step closer to Beck, trying her hardest to keep her words from faltering or cracking. "We take a little break…so you can explore your…feelings…for Cat."

"I don't think that's a good idea!" Cat squeaked out, but was quickly silenced by the stare from Jade.

"And so you can explore…your feelings," Beck replied, putting special emphasis on the word feelings, "For Robbie?"

Beck's words hurt, and Jade closed her eyes temporarily as she fought back the disgust she felt. Spitefully, she finally opened her eyes and responded. "Yeah…sure…" Jade started to turn around, with the intentions of getting as far away from Beck as possible. She wanted anything but to see him right now…and anything except for the Hollywood Art's student body to see her in the emotional state she was quickly approaching. However, before she could completely turn around, Jade felt Beck's soft grip on her arm, and willingly let him turn her back around.

"Wait Jade no…" Beck said in a pleading voice as he looked down at her.

"What?" Jade said in a soft, faltering voice as she looked up at Beck with glossy eyes.

"I don't want to take a break, " Beck said in the most sincere voice possible. "You know how that goes. No couple…just takes a break." Jade shook his head before continuing. "It's just…a transition phase…between going out and breaking up."

Jade stared up at Beck, and his close proximity and the fact he had his hands on her arm and her waist only made it harder to keep tears on the inside. As quickly as possible, Jade moved one hand up and quickly wiped the moisture forming on her cheek away, while she used the other to push Beck's hand off its position on her waist.

"Yeah…your right," Jade said, as she took a step backwards and wiped her other cheek with her hand. Not forcing Jade to stay close out of respect, Beck removed his other hand from her upper arm. "So umm…we should just break up…and save ourselves both time." Jade's inwardly kicked herself for allowing her voice to falter so badly during her last statement, as a small sob and a cracking voice made itself audible.

With moisture starting to form at the corner of his own eyes, Beck took a step closer and once again tried to gently wrap his hand around the back of Jade's arm. "Baby…"

This time, Jade didn't allow the physical contact as she pulled the side of her body away that Beck was trying to come in contact with. Beck let both of his hands hang to his side in defeat as he stared at Jade. His former girlfriend refused to look back at Beck. Before turning around, and pushing her way through the crowd that formed around them, Jade said, "Don't call me that anymore."

**THE BUZZ**

Tori gave Andre a concerned look as she approached him. Andre was leaning his back against a locker as he rubbed his face with both hands. After a while, Andre removed his back from the locker and his hands from his face and looked at Tori. Pointing his head in the general direction of where Beck and Jade had previously been standing, Andre said, "That right there…was entirely my fault. I'm a great friend right?"

Tori shook her head and clicked her teeth. "No it's not, don't beat yourself up."

"Yes it is Tori," Andre replied in a sad tone. "I shouldn't have dug into their business…and I shouldn't have even put them in the article at all."

"But they asked you for advice, it's not your fault." Tori said in a reassuring voice accompanied with a reassuring look. "But can I ask you a question?" She knew that Andre didn't really feel like answering question, but she had to know.

Andre shrugged his shoulders. "Sure…what's up?"

"How did you know it was them?" Tori asked. She held her breathe as she waited for a reply. She prayed that he only knew the writers of two of the three letters in today's article.

Again, Andre shrugged. "I don't know…I just did. It's the first time it's happened too. Well," Andre paused before continuing as Tori continued holding her breathe. "There was this one letter a couple weeks ago…I'm pretty sure it was Sinjin. But, I've answered like 30 letters so far and I've only known who those three were written by." Andre let out a sigh before finishing his statement. "So I'm not good at it…I guess it was just luck…bad luck."

Tori did mean to smile at this, but she was pretty sure that Andre would only take it as she was trying to laugh at his small attempt at humor to cheer him up. Regardless, he said three…not four. The three he meant was Beck, Jade, and Sinjin…he didn't know. With her fears squashed, she gained confidence.

"Awww…come here." Tori said in a sweet voice as she closed the distance and gave Andre a hug. Andre's advice played over in her head as she followed exactly what he said. Normally, Tori wrapped both her hands around the middle of his back and rested her head against its side on the middle of his chest. However, this time she nestled her head between the crevice formed by his neck and chest. Furthermore, while she did wrap her left hand around his back like in the past, she held her breathe again as she placed her left hand on his neck and rested her thumb on his jawline. Once she had completed the strategic maneuver, Tori managed to breathe.

Tori only rested her head against Andre for a few seconds. She removed it to look in Andre's eyes when she spoke to him, intentionally keeping her face about an inch closer to him that it had to be. It made her slightly uncomfortable, so it was outside of the "comfort zone" Andre had talked about. Therefore, she knew that she was probably doing what Andre told her to correctly. "Are you alright?"

Andre swallowed back and didn't immediately reply. After about a second of silence, Andre managed to nod his head slightly, and tried his best not to shutter from Tori's thumb tracking his jawline. Besides, he had caused it to do that by nodding his head. It wasn't like she was intentionally doing it or anything.

"Ummm…" Andre said, slightly surprising himself that it was the only thing that came out. "Yeah…"

Tori smiled at this. Quickly, Andre rescinded his previous. "Actually, no I'm not."

Tori's smile fell off her face for a frown that mirrored the one on Andre's face. Tori's body tightened up slightly as Andre reached his hand up to his face and placed his hand over her own, and moved it down away from his face. Tori understood, and loosened and removed her other hand from Andre's back, ending the hug. As Tori took a step back from Andre to place a more comfortable distance between them, Andre shook his head.

"Thanks Tori…but I just need to think of some way to fix this."

Tori nodded her head and returned the small smile that Andre gave her before the teenage male walked away.

It was now about 15 minutes after school had ended, and Tori was the only one left in the hallway. Inside, she kind of felt like a bad person. Her friends had just had a horrible break up that was witnessed by a large number of people, and all she was focused on was flirting more aggressively with Andre. This wasn't true entirely. After all, she was worried about Beck and Jade. She had helped get them back together when they broke up before, and Jade and her were now "frenemies", before they were only enemies or rivals. She was sure that she would help Jade again if she asked for it. In fact, she probably would brainstorm tonight like she knew Andre would. She hoped she could think of some way to help again, even if Jade didn't come to her house with a kite and started to cry.


	4. Horrible Timing and Front Doors

**A/N: I don't own Victorious…big surprise.**

**Okay, I got my first rant in a while…I hope you enjoy.**

**Dan FREAKIN Schneider…enough said. No not enough said…do you like to play with your fans. Let's make iStart A Fanwar…and promo the hell out of it "finally resolving the Creddie/Seddie issue" which to like over half of your fans mean "SEDDIE CONCEPTION (CUE ROMANTIC EMOTION)…okay i know the promos are beyond your control…so …but still…and then its just a random bashing of your fans pretty much for wanting a ship to happen…going on about the show being more about comedy than relationship…yes…i agree…in the first season or two…so NOOOOOO…YOU ARE WRONG…W…R…O…N…G….WRONG.**

**I love you…but I hate you…I am indeed the proverbial Sam as you are Freddie, and my love of your shows is thee Seddie. **

**I'm sorry that you are afraid to "jump the shark" so you have to string fans on an entire series…for one lame kiss or fluff moment during the series finale or something…COUGH COUGH CHASING ZOEY F***** SUCKED! Anyways…i'm mad at you. You said specifically…IN RESPONSE TO A BUNCH OF PISSED OFF FANS…in your blog…more than a couple months ago that something a lot of us fans would be VERY excited about would happen in a couple months…90% of us assumed seddie by the way you said it…the fact you are a seddie shipper yourself…and just BECAUSE…once again, you said it would happen in a COUPLE MONTHS….MORE THAN A COUPLE MONTHS AGO.**

**DAN SCHNEIDER…YOU LISTEN MAN…I AM NOT PLEASED BY THIS…YOU ARE FILLING ME WITH RAGE…not really…but i'm slightly irritated damnit.**

**(cough cough) Anyways, SHOUTOUTS!**

**Boris Yeltsin - Sorry I didn't get a chance to send you back a private message. I definitely like a few of your ideas. Unfortunately, I pretty much gave up on the Zoey 101 fandom. It's not very active and never was…and there are few active users (reviewing and writing wise)…so there is little return for efforts. But, I will let you know if I plan on writing any of them. Thank you for the ideas…and thank you for reading and reviewing. Trim59**

**Courtney4713- Yep lol…if you have read my stories there is always a nice little set up for the drama (and angst) lol…i am really happy you liked the chapter…and I hope you like this one. Thank you for reading! =D**

**LizGilliesFan - I hope you like this chapter. I know you had some issues with the Jade Robbie paring…even though its just a plot device for an eventual Bade…and I promise to do my best to make it "WORK" i promise. Also, I notice you didn't review chapter 3…so I hope you didn't give up and look elsewhere/at other stories…and if you did…i'm sorry…not that you'll be reading this. But, if you do see this (Hopefully) thank you for reading and reviewing. Trim59**

**JTPhoenix19 - Thank you…and I hope you continue to enjoy reading the story as much as I enjoy writing it. Even though this chapter was rough…its pretty much a "filler" chapter even though I tried to make some development and drama. And as far as relationships…i'm a guy as I've brought up a dozen times or more…but I'm kind of a sucker for just…awesomely awesomely ships lmao…so that just means your awesomely awesome as well lol. Thank you for reading and reviewing. I hope and look forward to hearing your opinion on this chapter. Trim59.**

**xxJazziieexx - Here's my update…I tried my best to update soon…and yup…the little Seddie moment in the middle made me happy to…team seddie ftw…and of course it was referencing iParty With Victorious…but of course I couldn't go into detail about anything…maybe after it airs i'll find in ways to tie a little more shout outs to iCarly and Seddie in the story…idk…lol. Thank you for R&R'ing. =D Trim59.**

**Demigod Wizard 4ever - Thank you, I'm glad you are enjoying the story. And don't worry…I'm sure there will be/ I will think of a few ways for Jade to make Tori's life just a little bit miserable. Thank you for reading.**

**heyHEYOhSorry -Thank you, I am glad you like this story. An initial idea to make a unique story was just complete betrayal of all my ships…which are Tandre, Cabbie, and Bade…like EVERYONE is with someone they shouldn't be…down to creating the ship Mr. Sijinwitz…just to do it…and having a ton of drama before the ships work out…but it just seemed a little to complex…so yeah while there will be some intermixing/drama/angst/misunderstanding and fusing and general messed uptness between the Bade and Cabbie…while Tandre is going to struggle and do its best to form…I'm glad that you still find this unique. Thank you for reading!**

**Xx-Channy-Seddie-Cailey-xX - I'm glad you noticed the Seddie reference…I do try lol. And that would be a RIDICULOUS letter lol…I could imagine Tori reading it to the lunchtable just like she did in Chapter 1…while Jade and Beck sit across from each other since they are currently broken up…and EVERYONE knowing who wrote it…and everyone staring at her…and Jade like DEATH STARING her…and her just giggling and being like "…What?" in that little innocent voice of hers lmao. That brought some happiness to my day lol thank you…and so does you reading and reviewing…so thanks again = )**

**Bballa - Well while I am a little tiny bit hurt you doubted me lol jk…I'm glad I changed your opinion and made you like the story. I hope you continue to read and review…and I hope you share with me in your next review a little bit of the story that took a big turn you weren't expecting and "made you a believer" I am VERY CURIOUS lol…once again…thanks =D**

**KingxLeon21 - This review…WOW…it meant a lot…thank you. Not just the fact that you explained you liked the story…but what you liked about it…made it a really flattering review. I hope that I don't disappoint you with this chapter. I'll admit, it is kind of a "filler" chapter…but I tried my damnedest to still make it more than just fodder until the real drama happens…so i hope you enjoy. Thank you! Trim59**

**Okay…that's all…next update next weekend probably =D. Trim59**

The Buzz

Chapter 4

Horrible Timing and Front Doors

"Well that explains this morning," Robbie said once Andre had completed his story of what had happened the previous day after school. "And why we are the only two people here."

Andre nodded his head as he stared at his friend across the lunch table.

"Kind of," Robbie added.

"Huh?" Andre questioned.

"I can see Beck and Jade not sitting here, just so they don't have to risk bumping into each other," Robbie said as he paused for a second and took a quick bite of his food. Andre nodded his head as he waited for his friend to quit chewing his food. "As if them glaring at each other in class wasn't bad enough…but where is Cat and Tori?"

Before Andre could reply, and almost on cue, Tori and Cat could be heard approaching in the distance. Turning their eyes towards the voices, both males spotted Tori and Cat as they approached.

"Hi!" Cat said with an excited wave as she sat down beside Robbie. Tori added a less excited, "Hey" as she made her way to the opposite side of the table and sat besides Andre.

Cat was the first of the four at the table to speak to the group. "Ummm…where are…never mind…" Cat didn't bother to finish the statement as she let her head hang.

After a few minutes of relative silence, Tori leaned towards Andre and spoke in a soft voice. "Hey did you…think of anything last night?"

Andre let out a low sigh and shook his head. "You?"

Tori didn't reply with words but also shook her head.

"I knew I shouldn't have-" Andre started, but was cut off as Tori said, "Stop," in a soft, but stern voice.

Tori offered Andre a reassuring smile before continuing. "I'm not going to let you beat yourself up. You were just trying to help."

Andre gave Tori a skeptical look, but her stare didn't falter as she turned her body to face the young male. After a few seconds, Andre managed to return the smile Tori had given him. "Thanks."

Tori smiled once again and nodded. Looking over at Cat, who had just placed the last few pieces of food on her plate into her mouth, Tori questioned, "You ready?" Cat put her hand over her mouth as she nodded in agreement. Robbie and Andre looked at the two girls, and Tori offered clarification as she looked back at Andre. "Cat and me have to go get ready for our presentation next period."

Robbie nodded his head across the table as Andre did the same while he looked at Tori. Cat and Robbie said their lunch farewells as the red head started to get up from the table. Using this as a brief distraction, Tori got up and leaned down until her face was only a few inches from Andre's ear. "For real Andre…no sulking…it's not your fault."

Andre tried to focus solely on Tori's words, and not her warm breath he could feel against his face and neck, as he nodded his head.

"Besides," Tori continued. "Your smart…I know you'll think of something."

Andre turned his head a little towards Tori and smiled. Leaning down further, Tori gave Andre a quick hug that was ordinary. Next, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. The introduction of Tori's lips with the side of Andre's face wasn't abnormal. In fact, she had easily given him over a dozen kisses on the cheek before. However, what was out of the ordinary is her lips didn't immediately retreat a split second after they reached their target. Not only was the fact her lips remained on his cheek for a couple seconds a new experience, the placement of her hand was also a first, as she placed the hand that had been hugging the front of his body against his neck. Andre didn't breathe for a second, as he closed his eyes and refused to let the emotions and urges he was having internally to surface. Since both of their eyes were closed, neither Tori nor Andre noticed as their two friend's eyes were on them from the moment the kiss started.

"Bye," Tori said in a soft voice as she stood back up.

Andre smiled, "Yeah..uh…bye."

In quick fashion, Tori said goodbye to Robbie as Cat did the same to Andre. Once they were finished, they left.

Andre's eyes followed Tori as she left with Cat. Once they were out of view, Andre turned his face back towards Robbie.

"What?" Andre said in reply to the skeptical look Robbie gave him.

Robbie rolled his eyes in a playful manner as he shook his head. He didn't say a word.

"What?" Andre repeated, a little louder than the first time.

"I would say your a complete genius, but," Robbie said. Before he continued, he shook his head. "I know you…and your not dumb…but you can be really dense sometimes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Andre said, unintentionally doing a pretty solid impression of Cat. Jade's words to him the previous day, that Robbie's statement brought back to the fore front of his mind, helped along his quicker than usual emotional swing as a frown fell on his face.

"I…" Was all that Robbie got out as a pained expression fell onto his face. Letting out a sigh, Robbie finished afterwards with, "I don't really have the right to tell you. You need to figure i-"

Andre letting out an aggravated, "Ugh!" cut Robbie's word off. Andre stared at Robbie for a few seconds before saying anything. "What are you and Jade talking about? She said almost the same exact thing."

Robbie fought back against a small smirk. Jade was quick and good at reading people, of course she knew. He was a little surprised that Jade hadn't let the truth out though, she loved drama. Upon further thought, he wasn't surprised. They both loved each other, they were just too dumb at times to realize it. Jade admitting to either one of them the truth would only bring them happiness. Jade was friends with Andre, at least she was before yesterday. However, she still only tolerated Tori.

Andre stared at Robbie with a determined expression on his face, waiting for a reply. Robbie nervously placed his eyesight on the closest thing by him, Rex. Gosh, he wished he could just have Rex scream "Tori wrote that letter…and it was about you…dummy!". After all, it really wouldn't be him saying it, but he really didn't think Rex should say it to him either. He would have to catch on someday, hopefully.

Even after about ten seconds of silence, the only thing Robbie offered in response was a frown. Giving up, Andre looked down at his watch with frustration. There was only about 5 minutes left for lunch. Letting out a smaller, and quieter grunt, Andre said, "Whatever man, I'll see you later" before getting up and heading towards his next class.

**THE BUZZ**

Deep down, the "man" side of Robbie made it quite clear to him. Cat was his, he wouldn't have it. Truthfully, he also wanted to see his friends happy, and that was when they were with each other. That was the main reason he actually got up the courage to walk over to Jade's house, which was only a few blocks down the street from his own. He wanted Jade and Beck, his friends, to be happy with each other…and Cat was his. He didn't really think that Beck would make a move on Cat, but he still didn't want to leave it to chance. He knew he had confidence issues, but even if he looked at himself in a confident manner…he didn't think much of himself when compared to Beck.

Robbie took his time transversing the walkway that wrapped around the house and led to Jade's house door. He also decided to get his nerves in check, and didn't actually knock on the door until he had been in front of it for almost a minute. Robbie did hear anything, and got his hopes up that he could actually escape to tell the tale of how he survived this horrible idea. However, a few seconds before he would have turned around and power walked off of the West's property, Robbie heard a noise that became louder by the instant.

The door swung open and Jade appeared where it had formerly been. It took the female a few seconds to realize who was at her door, but once she did a scowl quickly fell on her face. "What do YOU want?" Jade growled.

**THE BUZZ**

Beck had to see Jade. He loved her. Regardless of how much of his "crush" was just an innocent infatuation with the more bubbly Cat, Beck knew he loved Jade regardless of how rough around the edges she was. He had went through the entirety of Sikowitz' class trying to meet eyes with her to no avail. He could sense her looking at him, but whenever he would stare back at Jade she would never return the gesture. He tried to stop and talk to her a few times in the hallway, but she just walked by as if he was a ghost. He knew her, and he knew that she would rather ignore problems than confront them at times. Jade definitely had a more complex personality than most, and wasn't just the rude and mean girl she made people think she was. Beck was one of the few people who knew this.

Beck knew going to see her at home was his best possible option. Well, if she opened the door it would be.

Beck was a confident man. In fact, he was very confident for teenagers, with their usual insecurities and issues. Regardless, he still questioned every step he was taking as he slowly made his way up the walkway to Jade's house. He used to hate it. What kind of contractor would make a house that had the identical shape of the letter C if looked at from an aerial view? Worse yet, they only put one entrance, and put it in the middle. It was obviously a sound decision. That way, regardless of where you approached the house from, you would have to walk around the outside, turn, walk between the two sides of the house, turn, and walk another 15 feet to reach the ONLY entrance to the house. It was a really awesome idea, sarcasm included, and not to mention a fire hazard. Worst come to worse though, any window in the house could make a suitable exit in an emergency since the house was only one story. However, he didn't have as much as a beef with the design of Jade's parents house this particular day, it gave him more time until he actually arrived at the front door.

Beck held his breathe when he turned the last corner. He froze in place when he saw that Robbie was already standing in front of her door, and Jade was standing with the door open, probably about to let him in. He had horrible timing.

**THE BUZZ**

For some reason, probably due to the urgency of the situation, Robbie actually took a step towards Jade instead of backing up. "Jade, we gotta talk about-"

"No," Jade hissed in the same less than happy tone.

Robbie let out a sigh as he noticed she wouldn't even look him in the eyes and had begun to stare off.

Jade's heart skipped a beat as she saw Beck suddenly appear, only about twenty feet away from them. Initially, she was overjoyed. Beck had actually cared enough to come see her, and probably attempt to talk to her. Despite that, since the previous day she had been more emotionally bipolar and her mind sight changed just as quickly to anger. Why the hell was he there, shouldn't he be over at Cat's house instead? Knowing she would probably regret it later, Jade allowed her immature high school girl side to take over.

Robbie flinched, but only slightly, as Jade reached out and gripped his upper arm.

"Come in," Jade said in an tone that no longer held anger.

"What?" Beck questioned in a soft voice. He was glad that he would get the opportunity to talk to her about the ridiculousness of the last day, but her sudden mood swing confused him.

Removing her hand from his arm, Jade moved it up to his neck. Robbie's jaw dropped open slightly as he stared down at disbelief at Jade's hand. The ventriloquist thought that if Jade ever was touching his neck she would have been attempting to choke the life out of him. "Come in."

"Okay," Robbie replied, as he reached up at gripped Jade's forearm in an attempt to "help" her remove it from his neck. A few seconds later, Robbie released the grip on her hand, allowing both of their hands to fall back to the side of their bodies. Cautiously, Robbie started to make his way through the space between Jade's body and the door. Noticing that Jade was still staring off as she let him in, Robbie cocked his head to one side slightly. Was she just staring off or looking at something? Staring across the porch towards the walkway and the other side of her house like Jade was, Robbie did a double take after he could have sworn he saw movement. However, when he actually let his eyes focus on his surroundings, nothing was there.

**THE BUZZ**

Looking down at the ringing phone in her hand, Cat let it go off for a few seconds longer than usual. It was no doubt due to what had transpired the previous day, since now seeing the name "Beck" appear under who was calling her actually made her hold her breath a little. Finally, she answered it.

_"Hello…"_

_"Hey Cat, it's Beck."_

_"Hey! …Sup?"_

_"Ummm…nothing really…I got a question for you..."_

_"Oh, I love questions…what is it?"_

_"Are you busy Friday night?"_

_"Umm…haha…i don't know…I'm sure I'll be doing something but I don't know what yet."_

_"Oh…okay…"_

_"Why?"_

_"I was just wondering…if you wanted to go out…to like dinner…or a movie or something…"_

Cat held the phone way from her ear and took in a few deep breathes. Finally, when she regained her composure, she returned the phone next to her face.

_"You still there?"_

_"Oh yeah…sorry Beck…I uhh…I got crappy reception for a second…"_

_"Ohh…well I said if your not-"_

_"No I heard that…you said…Friday?"_

_"Uhh yeah…if you want to…and that works for you."_

_"Ummm…I'm not sure yet…is it okay if I let you know?"_

Cat crossed her fingers, hoping that Beck didn't take her statement the wrong way. Her fears were relaxed when Beck replied quickly.

_"Yeah that's no problem…that's why I asked if you were busy…"_

_"Oh…duhhh…haha…but yeah I'll let you know, okay?"_

_"Yep, looking forward to it…"_

_"Okay…well umm…goodbye Beck." _Cat's statement came out almost as a question as she wasn't sure if the conversation was reaching an end or not.

_"Yeah…bye Cat."_

**THE BUZZ**

Tori went over Andre's house all the time. Almost as often as not, Andre and Tori were the only two there. She didn't know why she was so nervous this time. Well she knew why, but it was stupid, and it only made her more nervous to think about it. She wondered as she drove the last stretch to Andre's house if she should at least call him. She decided against it, she came over uninvited numerous occasions, and she could tell by Andre's response and demeanor that while she was uninvited she was never unwelcome. She just hoped he was there.

Looking down at the clock on her dashboard, Tori gulped as she read 8:47. While there were a few times she stayed into the late evening at Andre's, she had never came over past about six or so. Tori refused to think about anything else as she searched the road near Andre's house for a parking spot, simply because any thoughts she was having only made her stress out more. Regardless, one last worry popped abruptly into the front of Tori's thoughts as she found finally found a parking spot. Was that Cat's car she had parked directly behind?

**THE BUZZ**

"Little Red!" Andre said in a chipper voice as soon as he opened his door and realized who was on his porch. "What's up?"

"Beck just called and asked me out." Cat blurted out with a worried look on her face.

A look of surprise grew on Andre's face. After a few seconds of digesting Cat's words, all the young man mustered was a, "Woooh…"

"Yeah," Cat said. Letting out a sigh, Cat pouted as she looked at Andre. In a fragile voice, Cat asked, "Are you busy?"

Andre gave his friend a supportive smile. Shaking his head, Andre replied, "No."

Cat's face finally lightened up some as she returned Andre's gesture by shooting him a thankful smile.

"And even if I was," Andre finished, "I'm not too busy for you."

An "awww" escaped from Cat's lips at Andre's sweet statement.

"Come on in." Andre said.

Cat nodded and started to take a step towards Andre's doorframe, until she noticed Andre bend over a little as he looked past her as he squinted his eyes. Curious, Cat turned around as well and looked in the direction Andre was staring off in.

**THE BUZZ**

When she made her way up through Andre's yard, Tori's question was answered when she could finally see Andre's porch and front door. Yes, that was Cat's car. Letting out a sigh, and fighting back more feelings of jealous, Tori's feet froze. Letting out a sigh, Tori hung her head and turned around in defeat. At least she could escape this situation before it came any more awkward. At least she could escape this situation before it became awkward for anyone but herself.

By the time her first step of defeat, away from Andre's house and back towards her car, landed softly against the ground, a million questions ran through her head. Why was Cat there? Did Cat come over Andre's house as often as she did? How many times, like it was with Andre and her, was it only Andre and Cat at his house. Was it only going to be Andre and Cat in his house tonight? Should she be worried? Were there any other videos that included Andre and Cat…that would have been marked spam, flagged, and immediately taken off The Slap website by moderators, due simply to graphic content…that she wasn't aware of. Tori did her best to block out the more ridiculous ones that were a fleeting thought spurred on only by jealously. More questions popped into her head, but one word caused Tori to be snapped from from her thoughts and back to reality.

"Tori?"

Swallowing back her pride, Tori stopped and slowly turned around to look at the front porch. Making it even worse, Cat shouted the same, one word statement loud enough that she could hear it. "Tori?"

"Hey guys," Tori shouted back between the distance that separated the three friends.

"What are you doing?" Cat questioned.

Tori didn't know. What was she doing? She only knew one simple thing. She had horrible timing.


	5. Just Like You

**A/N: Hello everyone, I just finished the chapter below and I got a few things to say before the chapter. No ranting really…just some things lol.**

**1- I'm sorry It's been so long since I've wrote a chapter. I have been busy with work and a lot of other things I do…and it's easy to not write for a week or two…and then forget about this wonderful site and the wonderful people for a couple of months instead of weeks. Once again, I'm sorry.**

**2- No shout outs this time…at least not individual ones. There were so many reviews that I probably would spend an entire day replying to all of them (You all know how I love to rant and each shout out basically becomes a short story). So with that said…thank you to all that have read and reviewed…and I'm glad you like the story. I will return to giving shout outs next chapter…and I hope you all continue to R&R. Thank you.**

**3- I haven't wrote in months. Every time I come back from a hiatus, whether it be a few weeks, a few months, or longer, I feel like my entire writing style has changed. If it has I'm sorry, if not (because I have had this concern before and the reviews to me saying that seem to make me think I'm imagining it) I guess it's all good.**

**I really hope this chapter is up to and meets standards.**

**4- This is kind of a short, but detailed chapter. I mean it's only one scene…but it goes kind of deep. I'm sorry it's short…part of it's because I don't have time to add the one or both of the next two scenes I want to…and I figure I would much rather give you a somewhat shorter update than make you wait another week or so for a normal sized one. The other part is…I read through the story…and being a freeform writer (no outline written down anywhere…I pretty much think of a story…get the major plot points in my head for the progression of the story…and fill in the areas in between with drama and other stuff as I go) I remembered about 95% of where I wanted to go with this story…but I still felt the slightest bit detached and not completely involved in this story. DON'T WORRY…i already feel like I'm 100% again( like I said I'm writing this now after I've already written the chapter below) but I didn't want to go to far into the next scenes and possible lay the groundwork a bit not level or askew if you know what I mean. Anways, with that being said…**

**Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter…I REALLY look forward to hearing what you think about it…so please review like always. And…no promises…but I'm ALMOST certain…that you can expect another update (A FULL SIZED ONE) within two weeks or sooner…hopefully sooner. Thank you, Trim59.**

**P.S. - Okay, sorry for the favoritism…but I have one shout out to a special reader.**

**JJ:**

**Roses are red, violets are blue/**

**I hope you have fun on vacation, I really miss you/**

**Some people are awesome, but you reallly are the best/**

**You're my Jeannette McCurdy, and I'm Nathan Kress/**

The Buzz

Chapter 5

Just Like You

Robbie shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the second episode of "Jersey Shore" started. Jade did her best not to notice, as she stared intently at the television screen. She didn't really like the show, but she enjoyed giving outward commentary to herself and whoever else was around about how stupid every single character was. Plus, it gave her a way to avoid the bound to be awkward conversation with Robbie. All she had said to Robbie since he had been in the house was, "What's up?" as if it wasn't obvious. Immediately following that, she plopped down on her couch and turned on the television, not even replying when Robbie spoke to her. After a few attempts over the last twenty minutes or so, Robbie had given up on actually having a conversation as he sat nervously on the couch, as far away from Jade as possible.

When a commercial finally came on the television, Robbie turned in his seat to face Jade. He had waited over thirty minutes to talk to her, and it grew even more awkward by the second. "Jade?"

Jade offered no reply as she pretended to be extremely interested in the product the commercial was trying to sell.

Again, Robbie said, "Jade?" in a slighter louder voice. Even though she felt a little like a coward, Jade refused to meet eyes with Robbie.

"Jade?" Robbie said a third time, once again making his voice somewhat louder.

"What?" Jade spat towards the teenage male on the other side of the couch, finally breaking her eyes free from the television.

"Can we…talk about today?" Robbie questioned, extending his arms out to his side as he raised his eyebrows.

Shifting in her seat, Jade crossed her arms over her chest. "There's nothing to talk about…"

Robbie let out a scoff mixed with a laugh that caused Jade to shot him an angry look. "Yeah okay," Robbie paused to let out another short fit of condescending laughter. "Nothing happened today…okay."

Jade shot daggers at Robbie as she stared at him out of the corners of her eyes. "I would choose your next words wisely Shapiro," Jade said through gritted teeth.

Letting out a sigh, Robbie shook his head. "Look…I just thought…maybe... I could help…or do some-"

"You can't," Jade retorted, "The damage is already done okay? Just stop…"

Robbie let his head hang as he stared at his lap. Simply put, this really sucked. Making him feel even worse, Robbie picked up the hints of sadness in the usually emotionless Jade. Well, that was a lie. Jade West was quick to display anger or frustration, but her expression of other emotions was far less common.

"I know…I know…" Robbie said, still staring down at his lap. "I just thought…maybe we could talk about it…maybe you wanted to-"

"Why would I want to talk about it?" Jade snapped, turning towards Robbie from her position on the couch.

Even though Robbie was receiving treatment he didn't deserve, he knew better than to come back at Jade with anger. Letting out a deep sigh, Robbie twisted his body some to face towards Jade. In the friendliest voice he could manage, Robbie replied. "You broke up with Beck yesterday…"

Jade nodded her head, with a look of sadness and indifference on her face. Robbie saw right through the front, knowing that he needed to be understanding towards Jade as possible, even if she was the hardest person in the world to grasp at times. She was hurting right now, and she needed a friend. He was a friend, or at least someone that managed to deal with Jade's behavior and wasn't completely repelled by it. "I mean…we all know you two are great together…"

Jade locked eyes with Robbie, knowing he was trying to be nice and supportive. Deep down, even though she hated pity, she wanted it at the current moment. Doing her best to put a smile on her face resulted in her looking at Robbie with a blank expression. Robbie knew what she was trying to do and the return act of kindness was appreciated. It wasn't a smile, but at least it didn't look like she wanted to kill him.

"And I'm pretty sure the reason… was because the letter Beck wrote about Cat…" Robbie trailed off as he noticed the Jade's demeanor change back to rabid. Trying to get off the topic as quickly as possible, Robbie tried to veer the conversation towards the next thing that popped into his head without thinking twice. "Or…because you wrote the letter to Andre saying you loved m-"

"Stop!" Jade spat, "I'm aware of what happened Shapiro!" Turning away from Robbie, Jade cross her arms and her legs as she returned her vision to the television, although her mind was not at all devoted to the people from New Jersey. "Thank you for the recap!"

Robbie let his head drop again, internally ridiculing himself. Not only was that stupid, but it came across like he was trying to make a mockery of Jade and embarrass her in her own home. Letting out a huge sigh, Robbie scooted about half a foot closer to Jade on the couch. "Jade, I'm sorry. I really…swear I didn't mean it like-"

Cutting off Robbie, Jade snapped her head away from the television to look at Robbie. "It doesn't matter," Jade said in a cold tone, although most of the anger was gone from her words. Letting out a sigh, Jade shook her head and broke eye contact with Robbie. "Because…" Jade slowly started, "…that is what happened."

Robbie shook his head again, as he let his eyes stray randomly away from Jade and bounce around her living room. He wanted to say something supportive again. He wanted to something, anything at all, that could turn the conversation towards a positive outcome. Unfortunately, he had nothing and nothing popped into his head as the silence crept in. Furthermore, odd thoughts crept into Robbie's head in unison with the awkward silence. Robbie gulped back as he turned his head and gave Jade a hesitant look.

"It wasn't because….like I…KNOW…for a fact…" Robbie let out a sigh as he gave up on trying to voice his question. It was ridiculous anyways, and he already knew the answer.

Curiosity piqued, Jade turned her head to look at Robbie. "What?"

"I know you hate me…but…" Once again, Robbie let his words trail off in favor of stumbling over them.

Jade let out an irritated sigh. "Listen Shapiro…" Jade narrowed her eyes as she notice Robbie roll his eyes at her. Letting out another sigh, Jade restarted. "Listen…Robbie…I don't…hate you…I mean I don't really like you at all but-"

"Yes you do," Robbie retorted in an irritated voice. "You even wrote it in the letter!"

Coming back quickly, Jade replied, "I also wrote you had the mindset of a 13 year old girl…and guess what you're acting like right now?"

Robbie let out a scoff as he broke eye contact. In a low tone meant only for himself, Robbie muttered, "Forget it…why did I even come over here." His internal commentary was to no avail as Jade made out every word.

Letting out a frustrated noise that was almost a growl, Jade tried her best to make amends. "Listen, I hate everybody…well almost everybody. But I mean it when I say…that I don't…like you…but…" Jade grabbed her hair for a second before throwing her hands out to her sides. "I don't hate you okay?"

Jade anxiously waited for a reply as Robbie leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs as he hung his head. When Jade was about to ask him to say something, Robbie turned his head slowly to look at Jade.

"You know…" Robbie said in an eerily calm voice that perplexed Jade, "You give me a lot of grief for Rex…"

"Yeah so?" Jade replied. However, the frustration that remained in her voice now was only from her not understanding Robbie's mood change.

"Yeah…yeah I am a 16 year old boy…that carries a pupped around school…pretty lame…"

"Yeah..b-" Jade couldn't even formulate a reply as she sigh cut off her own words. Honestly, she didn't even know how to reply and she allowed Robbie to continue talking with no resistance.

"Rex is the cool kid…hell, he has ten times the friends I do on the Slap." Robbie said, doing his best not to let his voice display anger. "You know…people walk by Rex…MY PUPPET…and me…and then say hi to him…that's it." Robbie let out a scoff. "What's going on Rex? That's it…" Robbie swallowed back a stinging sensation as he continued his heated stare with Jade. They looked at each other for a few seconds in silence, their stares only broken for a brief instant when it became uncomfortable or one of the two teenagers blinked.

"Robbie…" Jade said in a slightly sad tone, as if she was almost trying to comfort Robbie.

"But you know what Jade?" Robbie said with his former calmness restored as the silence allowed him to regroup. "Rex is me…I might be afraid to act like him…act like myself I guess…so I do it through a puppet." Robbie gritted his teeth for a second as he absolutely refused to allow the minor stinging at the corners of his eyes to get worse. "It's easy for anyone to see that I have no confidence…I'm shy…and a million other things that are wrong about me. You know why?"

Jade let her mouth fall open as she stared at Robbie.

Robbie didn't give Jade time to answer his hypothetical question. "Because Jade…all they have to do is look at the thing attached to my arm."

Once again silence fell between Jade and Robbie, as the male returned to hanging his head as he rested his arms on his thighs. However, Jade didn't let the silence fully set in this time. "What…what are you saying?"

Almost as if he was waiting for Jade's permission to make his point, Robbie returned to looking at Jade as he continued. "I'm afraid…that if I'm myself…not Rex and Robbie…just Robbie…that people won't like me…just like you."

Jade moved her head back on her shoulders slightly, caught off guard by Robbie's statement.

"I remove myself…from myself…and I hold it in my hand. But you…you ball yourself up so tight…" Robbie placed his hand over the middle of his torso and grabbed his shirt. "And hide yourself…somewhere deep…because you're just as afraid as I am…afraid that people won't like you."

Jade snapped her head away from Robbie, as she was now the one staring at her lap. Gritting her teeth as hard as possible, Jade refused to let the tears she could feel actually make it out. Jade's attention fell back on Robbie as she heard him getting up from the couch quickly. Watching, Robbie saw him head towards the door without another word. Robbie's body froze when his hand touched the doorknob, and he stood there for a few seconds. Finally, he removed his hand and walked toward the couch, stopping when he was almost able to reach out and touch it.

Looking down at the still sitting Jade, who was now turned around in her seat to look at him, Robbie shook his head.

"It's easier to hide for you…" Robbie said in a soft tone. "When they look at me they see Rex…a smart person knows my insecurities…they can see them plain as day."

"Robbie…I-" Jade started, but quickly stopped as she allowed Robbie to continue talking as soon as he started.

"But it's a lot harder for someone to see that about you…and you push them away before they can…" Once again, Robbie fought back the stinging in his throat as he tried to maintain his composure. "They look at me and give pity…but they can't do that for you…you won't let them…"

Without another word, Robbie slowly turned around and took a few steps towards the door. Stopping once again, Jade hoped as she watched Robbie that he would turn around and explain further. However, her hopes were not fulfilled as Robbie shook his head and made his way out of the house.

**A/N: Ehhh, felt like adding another sentence or two down here. What did you think? I hoped you enjoyed it and it was up to writing standards of the rest of the story. THANK YOU FOR READING. Looking forward to hearing what you think. Until next time, Trim59.**


	6. Thursday

**A/N: I'm not going to rant on. However, I do want to say a few things before the chapter. First off, THANKS YOU TO EVERYONE WHO READ AND REVIEWED. I ABSOLUTELY love hearing feedback…that's the biggest reason I love getting reviews…and the biggest reason I love writing in general.**

**I kind of felt like I let you down last chapter. It was kinda short. There wasn't a ton of detail…and it seemed like it was both the readers (all of you wonderful people) and the writers (me…) reintroduction into the story…after a couple month hiatus.**

**Regardless, I feel like I'm back and ready to go...so...**

**Here you go…a full sized chapter update with some more drama I know you all love.**

**Once again, I hope you all enjoy this chapter…and I hope you let me know what you think in the reviews. **

**DO NOT be afraid to give some constructive criticism…I try my best to work it in when I can (to the reviewer that hinted at not liking my humongous A/N's at the beginning of each chapter…I hope this is a little bit better…)**

**Thank you…much love to everyone R&R ing. THANK YOU, Trim59.**

The Buzz

Chapter 6

Thursday

Tori actually fooled Cat and Andre with relative ease. She told them the reason she was retreating from Andre's front lawn was she forgot her cell phone in her car, which she actually had left on the passenger seat. Also, the time she spent retrieving one of her most precious pieces of technology allowed her more time to analyze the situation and calm down. Regardless, she didn't have to wonder why Cat was there for long. The second Andre walked his two female friends through the front door Cat plopped down on the nearest seat in the living room and divulged everything.

Tori knew that at the end of her speech, after Cat had given all the information and her interpretation of it, she was going to ask for their opinions. This lead to an internal struggle inside the young brunette's brain.

The more devious side immediately wanted to urge Cat to accept Beck's offer for a handful of reasons. It got her out of the picture. Cat not being single, if she was indeed the "close friend" Andre had feelings for at one time, would definitely make that one problem a lot smaller. Plus, even after she had bent over backwards to help Jade get back together with Beck the first time they broke up, the appreciation and attitude change towards her was hardly noticeable most of the time. This included Jade's change in attitude towards Beck. Jade didn't deserve Beck.

On the other hand, the more humane part of her brain had a counter argument. Tori knew that Jade and Beck were meant for each other, or at least extremely compatible for some reason. Before she had fallen for Andre it would have been hard to admit that, but she no longer had infatuation with Beck clouding her brain. Secondly, she didn't want to see their group of friends in any more disarray than they already were. A crazy love triangle, square, or even pentagon would not help bridge the gaps that were forming between all of them.

The logical part of Tori's brain only had one thing to add to the debate. If Cat was indeed the person Andre talked about in the reply to her letter, Tori wanted to be the best option for Andre. In fact, she wanted to be chosen over anybody. Tori did not want to be the best AVAILABLE option, only because Cat ending up dating Beck.

In the end, Tori's compassion won out. Andre and Tori coming up with basically the same advice for Cat. Give it some time and think on it. Beck and Jade were broken up, it wasn't like she was stabbing a friend in the back, at least not directly. Besides, it could be completely casual…how much could one date hurt? It would also give Cat and Beck time to talk about the letter he wrote to Andre, and why he wrote it.

However, all three of them knew that Jade could potentially be furious. Plus, dating a close friend's ex-boyfriend, when they recently broke up, when he is also a close friend, didn't sound like the best idea. Furthermore, it could end up not being a casual date at all. It could be a real date, and the first of many. What would happen then?

Long story short, Cat needed to sleep on it…maybe for multiple nights.

After Cat thanked both of them for the advice, gave them both a hug, and excused herself for the night, Tori let out a yawn. Suddenly growing tired, Tori's eyes wondered to the clock for the first time since she had been in Andre's house. She couldn't believe it was 11:04. They had spent over two hours discussing Cat's predicament among the three of them. Still growing more tired by the second, and knowing staying any longer would be rude, Tori stood up with the intent on leaving. Like usual, Andre walked with Tori to her car as they had idle chit chat.

Trying to salvage a small victory, although most of the night had ended up being devoted to Cat, Tori once again placed one hand on Andre's neck as they embraced one other in a goodnight hug. She also did her best to grip Andre tighter than she usually did. Before she pulled away, Tori placed a quick kiss on Andre's cheek, although it lingered a moment longer than necessary. Once she was at a safer distance, Tori met eyes with Andre. She could have sworn for a split second she could see slight confusion on his face, along with a hint of glossiness in his eyes that she could only remember seeing a handful of times before. She wasn't sure what it was, but she hoped her actions at least got his "gears turning" as Andre had said in his letter. Feeling the slightest bit triumphant, Tori smiled as she looked at Andre. "Goodnight Andre."

Andre returned the smile. "Goodnight T."

Without another word, Tori got in and started up her car as Andre headed towards his house. This was the longest and most drama filled Tuesday she could remember, but at least it was finally over.

Wednesday flew by for Tori. Tori and Andre still kept trying to think of something to help the situation, now that seemed to involve all of their friends, but came up with nothing. They also waited to see what Cat's decision was going to be. Unfortunately, their wait was in vain as Cat avoided everyone except them. Jade avoided Robbie and Beck. The young men did the same towards Jade. Tori and Andre ended up eating lunch completely alone, not that either one of them had an issue with it, as they discussed their friends some more. To make matters worse, Tori was so scatterbrained due to worrying about everyone except Andre, that she didn't think about Andre until it was too late. She realized the missed opportunities for flirtatious activity with Andre during her last class of the day. When Tori asked Andre if he wanted to hang out with her after school, Andre apologetically explained that he had family plans and couldn't. Before she knew it she was at home by herself. Her parents were at work like usual, and even Trina was out with friends. Andre was with his family…and everyone else was cooped up in their house hiding from each other. She ended up going to bed before 8 P.M.

**THE BUZZ**

Robbie let out a yawn as he scavenged his locker for the books he needed. It was Thursday morning, but it really felt like a Monday morning for some reason. Not aware of his surroundings, Robbie didn't see the black haired girl approaching until she was on top of him. Slamming her hand against a locker near Robbie, Jade fought back a small smirk as she watched him jump.

Robbie snapped his head to look at Jade, with his eyes still slightly bulged from being startled.

"What's your problem girl! You almost gave me splinters!" Rex exclaimed.

Jade rolled her eyes in reply to Rex's comment as she decided to lean against the locker she hit. Crossing her arms, Jade shook her head and acted completely disinterested.

Robbie let out a sigh as he suddenly felt immediately embarrassed. However, he knew the main factor for his humiliation this time. It seemed kind of foolish to involve Rex in his conversations with Jade anymore, especially after the talk they had on Tuesday night. "Sorry…he's d- …I'm done."

Jade gave Robbie a skeptical look. After a few seconds, she nodded. "You know," Jade said, "You should thank me for avoiding you yesterday."

Turning away from his locker to face Jade, Robbie tilted his head to the right side. "Why?"

"Because I…" Jade said, and paused for a moment to act like she forgot what she was saying. Snapping her fingers, Jade continued, "Oh yeah…I would have strangled you."

**THE BUZZ**

"It's simple," Cat mumbled to herself so no one else would hear as she made her way towards her locker, "Beck I think your awesome…but you are my one of my best friends. Jade is also one of my best friend," Cat starting moving her hands to explain what she was saying as she imagined she was talking to Beck. She didn't catch on to the few people passing by that gave her weird looks. This was no doubt due to the face she was talking to herself.

"So i can't date you. I think you meant it like a date. I don't know." Cat let out an awkward giggle and kept explaining herself to an invisible Beck as she continued through the school. "I still want to hang out….we always hang out…and girls and guys can hang out. I just want you to know before we do that if you meant it as a date…I'm sorry b-"

Cat's hyperactive walk came to a stand still when she made the last turn into the long corridor where he locker resided. Her brow narrowed the slightest bit when she saw Robbie and Jade. She knew that if she continued walking closer they would see her. Instead, she used the students that were starting to pile into the school as a distraction as they walked by, as she leaned against the nearest wall and watched Robbie and Jade.

**THE BUZZ**

Robbie moved his head back on his shoulders due to how serious Jade's tone got towards the end of her statement. "I…I did make a lot of assumptions about you-" Robbie said in an attempt to apologize but was cut off.

"You did," Jade replied in a matter of fact way, "But…I realized…the reason I was furious yesterday wasn't because of what you said…"

Robbie raised an eyebrow as he focused in on what Jade was trying to say.

Readjusting herself against the locker, Jade's let her eyes wonder momentarily. Noticing that the hallway was starting to feel up, Jade took a step forward to minimize the distance between Robbie and herself to about a foot and a half. Finally, Jade let out a deep sigh and returned to looking at Robbie. In a hushed tone so no one would overhear, Jade said, "It was because of how right you were."

Robbie gave Jade a small nod, fully understanding what she said. In truth, he never would have tried to psychoanalyze a girl who could be describe at times as downright vicious…unless he was almost positive he knew he was right.

"I ummm…" Jade didn't finish her statement immediately. Again, Jade broke eye contact, this time favoring the floor between the two of them over the elevated school ceiling. Letting out a defeated sigh, Jade continued, "I'm going to try to get…"

Noticing Jade's facial expression, Robbie gave the female a questioning look that she didn't see. Truth be told, if Robbie didn't know she was struggling to say something he would have thought she was in physical pain by the strained look on her face. Again, Jade moved a few inches closer to Robbie so he would be the only one that could possible hear her words. "I'm going to try to get help from Andre."

**THE BUZZ**

A plethora of thoughts ran through the Cat's mind. The most prevalent thought of all: Why were they so freaking close? She watched as they went from standing a few paces away from each other, in a way that complete strangers or friends would casually talk to one another, to being so close if they both leaned forward a few inches they would have smashed into each other.

Cat was also fairly good at body language. When they were far away from each other they seemed indifferent. Now, they were facing each other, and they seemed to be having a private conversation, and seemed extremely interested in what the other was saying. They were so close that they were probably barely talking above whispers. Cat wouldn't even have been able to hear what they were saying if she was hiding behind Jade only a few feet behind them. This made Cat wonder tenfold what they were saying.

She couldn't stand it anymore. She didn't care if it was awkward, she was going to walk up with a smile in the most "Cat" like way she could manage…and break up the little conversation they were having. Honestly, she wanted to…and she would have. Unfortunately, she couldn't get her feet to move as she leaned more of her bodyweight against the wall and continued watching Jade and Robbie.

**THE BUZZ**

"Really?" Robbie questioned with a tone of disbelief, completely taken back by Jade's words.

"Yeah," Jade shot back with irritation. "He's good at all this emotional stuff…showing feelings…expressing yourself…all of that…" Jade inwardly scoffed at what she said. She wasn't lying, Andre was amazingly good at helping his friends, solving problems, and expressing himself. Regardless, he was still blind when it came to Tori and their mutual feelings for one another. Hopefully, Andre would be much more helpful to her than he was to himself, if he agreed to help that is.

Knowing that he would only offend Jade and have her reset all her defenses, Robbie stifled the urge to let out a laugh at how awkward Jade sounded. Being supportive, Robbie gave another small nod to Jade. "Jade…if you need my help…I-"

"No," Jade retorted in a harsh tone. Pausing for a moment, Jade took the anger out of her voice before continuing. "No offense…but you got the same problem I do. How would someone help me if they have the same pr-"

"I get it," Robbie replied.

Jade nodded her head in acceptance.

Feeling another weird silence start to set between them, Robbie did his best to keep the conversation from getting awkward. "But yeah…I think Andre can help…like you said he is gr-"

"I know!" Jade spat back at Robbie, cutting him off. "That's why I said it."

**THE BUZZ**

They were in high school, but Beck refused to play this game. He refused to look in their direction, just as Jade wanted him to, as she leaned against the wall near Robbie's locker. She was closer than necessary to have a conversation with him. In fact, it was usually how she would wait for him at his locker…well, used to wait for him. Trying to focus and not get upset or frustrated, Beck went about getting his books out of his locker as calmly as he could. Occasionally, Beck would find an excuse to look around and peek to see if they were still talking, and they still were.

The nerve of this girl was astounding. After what had only happened a few nights before, she was now doing this? Without a doubt, seeing Jade caress Robbie on her doorstep and tell him to come on inside was hard on him. However, it had fortified his emotions some. If she thought standing next to Robbie's locker during school and whispering sweet nothings to him was going to cause him to break down she was wrong. He would get this laugh. He refused to give her the gratification of seeing him staring at them, all alone by his own locker down the hallway.

Finally, Beck couldn't stand it anymore. Keeping his body facing his locker, Beck turned his head towards Jade and Robbie. Refusing to look away, he was surprised when Jade didn't see him looking within the first five seconds. He continued staring at Jade, expecting her to check to see if he was looking her way. He realized that she truly didn't realize that he was there, and Beck fought back jealousy and curiosity at the same time. Whatever they happened to be talking about, they were both fully involved in the conversation. This made Beck wonder tenfold what they were saying.

Growing the slightest bit disinterested, Beck allowed his eyes to wonder briefly and take in the other students that were starting to pile into the hallway. Noticing a familiar face, Beck squinted slightly and saw Cat at the opposite end of the hall. Concern crept up in his stomach as Beck noticed how Cat was leaning against the wall, almost as if it was providing the only support that kept her from falling to the ground. In between the students that walked between Cat and himself, almost camouflaging the young redhead, Beck continued to examine Cat. She was doing the exact opposite of him…she was staring fiercely. Her eyes refused to yield from staring at Robbie and Jade. However, she wasn't furious and did not appear angry in the slightest. He tried to place the look on her face, but Cat's expression was hard to dissect for Beck. Returning his focus to Jade and Robbie, Beck noticed Robbie's head start to turn in his general direction. Beck quickly went back to getting his books out of his locker, hoping that Robbie didn't notice him looking.

**THE BUZZ**

Robbie instinctively let out a sigh at Jade's behavior. Shaking his head, Robbie scanned the hallways briefly and noticed that some of their "group" was down the hall at their own lockers, along with the majority of the student body that was starting to rapidly fill the hallway. He noticed Tori and Beck, but didn't really remove himself enough from the conversation to wonder where Andre and Cat were. He was glad Tori didn't notice their conversation, but he was extremely happy that Beck hadn't seen them. The bell signifying the start of the school day was about to ring. Robbie just had to make it another minute or two without fighting with Jade.

The second Jade fired words at Robbie she wished that she could take them back. She knew they were uncalled for. This was exactly what Robbie was talking about, and she always did it. She didn't want to do it anymore, at least not constantly, and at one of about five people she could actually call a "friend".

Swallowing back hard, Jade tried to apologize. "I…"

Robbie returned his eyes to looking at Jade when he noticed the sincere tone in her voice.

Again, Jade swallowed back. "I…don't know why I'm always so edgy…I don't want to be…"

Robbie nodded his head. He understood. Softly, Robbie said, "I know…"

Jade understood that her apology was accepted. Regardless, she was trying to turn a new leave. Basically telling Robbie "_Yeah I'm a bitch, I don't know why…but I am_" didn't seem like a great apology. Continuing, Jade maintained the sincere tone.

"What you said it…it made me realize that I want…I…" Jade broke eye contact and looked at the nearest wall. When she looked back at Robbie a few seconds later, Jade said the most honest thing she could think of. "I don't just want to be…that mean girl."

Robbie didn't have time to reply as the school bell boomed across the hall from the loudspeakers located at each corner of the corridor. Seeing this as a good time to make an escape, before it got any more uncomfortable for her, Jade muttered, "Thanks." and gave him the quickest hug she could manage. Before Robbie even had time to return the unexpected embrace, Jade had already let him go and walked away. She wasn't good at this type of thing, they both knew that. She knew Robbie would understand her abrupt departure.

Robbie did understand and allowed Jade to walk away without any form of resistance. Suddenly growing anxious, Robbie remembered he still needed to get his books from his locker and get to class, before the next bell rang. Robbie's eyes instinctively scanned his surroundings as he started to turn back towards his locker. Doing a double take when he saw a flash of red he thought he recognized, Robbie gave the crowd a closer examination. Upon seeing Cat again, Robbie knew his eyes hadn't played tricks on him. About the same time he wondered why Cat was almost running down the hallway and away from his general direction, she turned the corner and was out of sight. She must have been in a hurry to get to class. He was going to be late as well if he didn't hurry up. Without thinking on it further, Robbie opened his locker and gathered his school supplies.

**THE BUZZ**

Thursday was going well for Tori, albeit slow, as she waited for her class to end. This was because her next class was Mr. Sikowitz's, and her favorite. The two biggest factors that made her enjoy acting class were simple: she was in love with Andre and she loved acting. Andre was in the class. The class was about acting. Needless to say, Tori was happy when the bell finally rang.

As she got closer to class, Tori's mind started to wonder and go on tangents. Regardless, she shook them out of her brain and focused on walking. She had promised herself the previous night that she wouldn't plan what she would do to get Andre's attention. She would just let it happen naturally. A boyfriend and girlfriend didn't plan days in advance the next time they would kiss, make out, hug, or…cuddle. It just happened naturally. Tori knew that was how it was supposed to be.

Turning the last corner to her class, Tori's heart skipped a beat when she noticed the tall, handsome, and athletically built male in front of her. Acting on her promise to herself, Tori spontaneously went up and wrapped her arms around Andre from behind. "Hey you!"

Jumping slightly, Andre turned his head and looked down with his bulging eyes at Tori. As soon as he saw who the hugger was, a large smile came across his face. Once Andre had spun himself around inside Tori's grasp, he returned the favor and wrapped his arms around the young female's waist. "Hey you back."

Andre was in a good mood all day, but now he felt great. Spontaneously, Andre picked Tori up with ease and squeezed her as she let out a laugh. A moment later he put her back on her feet and let go of her waist. Tori took half a step back after they ended the embrace, and nervously brushed a few stray hairs from her face. Continuing the trend, Tori acted only on impulse as she quickly leaned up and kissed Andre on his cheek. "Ready to go to class?"

"Ummm…" Andre muttered as he tried to refocus, "Yeah…let's go."

Tori smiled in response. Nervousness hit Tori like a ton of bricks when she noticed the look on Andre's face suddenly change. It looked like he had just made the biggest discovery or realization of his life. Tori tried not to get her hopes up that maybe he was catching on to her antics. Reaching her hand out, Tori grabbed Andre's forearm. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah…" Andre said in a slow, all the while maintaining the stunned look on his face. "Let's…just uhh…let's go to class."

Trying to play it off, Tori nodded. "Okay."

**THE BUZZ**

Andre didn't say a single word the entire class, not even during the "Drive-by Acting" sessions. The closest he got was a large sigh he let out when the bell rang. Even though he sat in the middle of the classroom, Andre was the first out of the classroom. He hoped the class and his friends just thought he was really hungry and wanted to get to lunch. Regardless, he refused to slow down his pace, all the while hoping he didn't hear any of the group calling his name from behind. When Andre finally got to a deserted area of the school, which happened to be near the school library, he began nervously pacing back and forth. Ironically, he was a good student but he couldn't fit his mind around the vast amount of thoughts that popped into his brain during Sikowitz's class. However, now that he was on his own time, when he usually let his mind take a break, he was processing everything.

This was NOT happening. Sure, it was complete hell at times to suffer as only being Tori's best friend. Internally, Andre cursed himself for thinking that. He loved being Tori's best friend, even before he fell in love with her. However, he wanted more. In the past, he at least had the delusion that maybe someday things would be different. That was until now.

Andre knew something was different this week. The sexual tension was gone, not for him but for Tori. Apparently, the slight awkwardness and nervousness that he felt when he got physically close to Tori, or even when an innocent kiss on the cheek or hug lasted slightly too long for "best friends", was completely and totally GONE. At least it was for Tori. All week she had been hugging him like he was a cuddly teddy bear, kissing him on the cheek like a baby, and countless other things…and doing it like it was natural. The awkwardness and nervousness were gone for her. Sadly, the awkwardness and nervousness that he thought she used to feel was good, at least for his hopes that he could have something more with Tori. They used to share it, and that gave Andre hope that maybe that she felt the same way.

Andre was not racist, sexist, or discriminatory in any type of way. He judged a person by their character. However, he HATED being the "gay best friend" role. It hit him like a ton of bricks. He probably looked like an idiot when he realized it in front of Tori. Actually, he was pretty sure his eyes almost fell out of his head and his mouth fell open. It was right after she kissed him on the cheek, which was right after Tori hug attacked him like he was a giant freaking teddy bear. This was NOT happening.

He wouldn't let it happen. He was going to go find Tori, before he lost the courage, grab the beautiful girl, and kiss her. She was going to act shocked. He was going to explain to her that he was in love with her. She was going to feel outraged, betrayed, and hurt. Tori would then proceed to slap him. Their friendship would be ruined, therefore, making him a horrible human being. Regardless, he didn't care. If there was any chance of saving the dwindling hope that she maybe felt the same way, which Andre estimated was probably about a one percent chance at best, he had to act.

Looking down at his watch, he was surprised to see it was 11:04. It had only been four minutes since the bell for lunch rang. Apparently, a minute felt like an hour during chaotic, deep self reflection. Tori was still probably putting her stuff away in her locker. With a purpose, Andre started power walking towards his locker. Conveniently, Tori's locker was only about 20 feet away.

**THE BUZZ**

Tori's only thoughts were of what was bothering Andre as she walked towards her locker. He hadn't said a single word during class, and he ran out of the classroom like it was about to explode. She noticed his demeanor and body language during class. He seemed out of it…completely lost in thought and in his own little world. Apparently, whatever was in his own little world resulted in a mix of frustration, anger, and sadness that mixed together on Andre's face in a way that was easy for her to see. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but think she had to be the cause somehow.

Tori's pace slowed down when she realized she was approaching Beck and Cat, who were standing near her locker.

"Okay so like…8 then?" Cat questioned in her usual chipper voice.

"Ummm," Beck replied back in his typical nonchalant, somewhat suave tone. "Yeah sure, that works. I'll pick you up."

The look on Cat's face was one of confusion as her eyes glazed over for a split second. "Why do you want to pick me up?" Looking down at the ground as she picked up her left foot, Cat continued, "Am I standing in something?"

Beck let out a small chuckle, finding Cat's confusion and naivety to be entertaining. "No, I mean tomorrow…at 8."

Cat smiled and threw a finger up in front of her face as what Beck was saying finally clicked. "Ohhhh," Cat exclaimed, pausing for a second to let out a giggle, "Yeah that sounds great!"

"Okay well," Beck quit talking as he saw Tori. "Hey Tori."

Immediately after Beck's acknowledgement of Tori's presence, Cat greeted Tori with her typical, "Toriiii!"

"Hey guys," The brunette replied as she held up one hand, doing her best to cover up her concern and worry about Andre.

"Okay, well I'ma go grab lunch," Beck said, "I'll see you girls out there."

"Kay!" Cat replied happily as she waved at the departing Beck.

Opening up her locker, Tori started putting her books away. Before she knew it, Cat was standing directly beside her.

"Hey so guess what!" Cat exclaimed.

Trying to act interested, Tori replied, "You and Beck are going out Friday night…at 8?"

Somewhat shocked, Cat replied, "Yeah! How did you know?"

"I don't know," Tori replied. She really didn't have the urge to explain she heard the end of their conversation. Truthfully, she really didn't have the urge to talk at all right now.

Noticing Tori's less than happy mood, Cat leaned forward until her head was almost in Tori's locker. "You okay?"

"So I take it you decided to go out on a date?" Tori questioned, not replying to Cat's original question.

"Uhhh…yeah," Cat replied.

Tori began to slowly close her locker, which was the signal for Cat to remove her head from the travel path of the metal door. Stepping back, Cat tilted her head to the side. "Do…you not think I should?"

Tori replied, "No," and let out a sigh immediately afterwards.

"No?" Cat said in a worried voice.

"No, I mean…not that…" Tori tried to explain without getting frustrated. "Like I said…either way I don't think…there's a wrong decision really-" Tori gave up on trying to talk as she let out a sigh.

"Then what's wrong?" Cat questioned, showing a lot of concern for her friend as she reached out and placed her hands on Tori's shoulders.

Letting out a sigh, Tori finally let all the emotions she was holding inside show on her face. Looking at Cat, Tori shook her head. "…Andre."

**THE BUZZ**

Andre's eyes darted around as he jogged down the first set of stairs. Immediately, he spotted Tori from his vantage point. She was by her locker talking to Cat. He was so close…he was going to do it. He hoped nothing stopped him or came in his way. He could feel his courage wavering with each step that got him closer to Tori. Reaching the top of the last small set of stairs, Andre nudged into the handrail that at one point in time had Cat handcuffed to it. Before he knew it, he was already at the bottom of the steps.

Andre stopped for a second, taking in a deep breath. Upon noticing that Tori and Cat weren't aware of his presence in the hallway, Andre took one final deep inhale. Exhaling, Andre took a confident step forward. There was no going back now. Nothing was going to stop him, besides the firm grip that suddenly clamped onto his wrist.

Spinning around, Andre saw Jade.

"Andre, I need to talk to you." Jade said in a serious voice.

"Sure, no problem," Andre replied quickly. Holding his hand out to his side, Andre continued, "But there's something I got to take care of real quick." After he finished his statement, Andre attempted to pull his hand back to his side. Andre was surprised when Jade anticipated, and tightened her grip.

"I need to talk to you right now." Jade said in a slightly louder voice.

"Aww come on!" Andre retorted, trying once again to pull his arm free. Before he could win the tug-o-war for his own body, Jade reached forward and grabbed his wrist with her other hand. "Jade please, can you give me one minute?"

"Andre!" Jade growled, but the look on her face held more emotion than pure anger. Andre quit fighting when he noticed the look on Jade's face. Without having to struggle against the much physically stronger Andre, Jade finished her statement in a soft, almost pleading voice. "I…I need to talk to you…please?"

Andre knew Jade well. This was not like her. Whatever she wanted to talk about was extremely serious. Andre was a good friend. No matter how badly he wanted to, he wasn't going to make Jade wait. To himself, Andre thought that maybe it was divine intervention. This was a higher power's way of saying, "Andre, what you are about to do is ridiculous…and stupid."

With a hint of whininess in his voice, Andre replied with a simple, "Okay."

Jade gave Andre an appreciative smile. Next, Andre noticed as Jade's eyes darted around and fell on all the students in the hallway. Returning her eyes to meet Andre's, Jade said, "Not here…"

Andre gave Jade a questioning look, but it quickly dissipated. Andre knew it was going to be a serious topic. He didn't blame her for not wanting to talk about it in a crowded high school hallway.

Releasing one of her hands from Andre's body, Jade headed towards the stairs, forcing Andre to follow by her death grip on his wrist. After the first few steps, Andre caught up and Jade finally released him from her grasp. In complete silence, Jade led the way back up the stairs Andre had just finished coming down. Growing more curious by the second, Andre followed by her side. Andre didn't look back towards Tori before she fell out of view, otherwise Andre would have seen her staring at Jade and him as they left.


	7. The Evil Ms West

The Buzz

Chapter 7

The Evil Ms. West

Jade had done almost all the talking for the five minutes they had been standing in a quiet hallway near the ballet classroom.

"Okay," Andre said softly, without much hesitation. The slight pause was only because Andre wasn't entirely sure if Jade was for real or playing a trick on him. However, her demeanor and sincerity were easy for Andre to pick up on. "I'll help you."

"Thank you." Jade replied quickly. She was still speaking quietly, as to not draw any attention towards them if random students walked by, but happiness and gratitude were apparent in her voice.

"Ummm," Andre continued, rubbing his neck with his right hand. "I'm…not sure exactly how…but I'll think of something."

Jade nodded her head.

"How about after school…we can-"

"I can't." Jade said in an slightly upset tone. Frowning, she continued, "I have to go visit my relatives after school today." Jade let out a frustrated sigh. "They live like three hours away."

Andre's only reply was, "Ohhh…"

Jade dropped her head slightly as she tried to think of an alternative plan. Before she could formulate a new plan, Andre voiced another idea.

"How about tomorrow?" Andre questioned.

"That…" Jade paused briefly to think if she had any plans for her upcoming Friday. She was newly single and wasn't the best with people, she didn't have any plans with friends. Jade knew her parents usually went out on Friday nights. Nodding her head, Jade finished her statement. "…Should work."

"Okay," Andre replied with a smile, feeling a small sense of accomplishment at his quick problem solving. "Tomorrow after school... you can walk home with me if you want to and-"

"No," Jade quickly replied in a dull voice.

Andre raised an eyebrow at Jade. However, the confusion went away as quickly as it had onset. Jade and him walking to his house together would definitely raise suspicion. Meeting up at a later time after school would definitely be better.

"Yeah…that wouldn't look the best." Andre replied. Jade nodded her head with a slightly disinterested look on her face. Andre nodded as well, continuing with, "Come over after dinner…like 6 or-"

"No," Jade said again, this time with a little more force behind her words. Before Andre could respond, or ask why, Jade decided to clarify. "Your house is like a…a…" Jade grew the slightest bit frustrated and placed her hands in front of her chest. Curling up her fingers, Jade finally threw them to the sides of her body with flair. At the same time, with the slightest hint of disgust on her face, Jade finished her statement by saying, "A social cesspool!"

Andre moved his head back on his shoulders a few inches. A look matching Jade's, but to a lesser extent, fell on Andre's face at the female's description of his house.

"Tori comes over…Beck comes over…Robbie comes over…" Jade paused momentarily and let out a sigh. "The last thing I need…is a surprise visit from somebody while I'm over your house."

"Yeah…" Andre replied and stared at the ground. His brow furrowed a little as he tried to think of another alternative.

"Yeah…" Jade said in a somewhat mocking manner as she looked towards Andre. Placing a hand on her hip, Jade continued staring at Andre.

Surprising Jade, Andre looked back up within a few seconds. "I'll come over your house instead?"

"Ummm…" Jade quickly scanned her brain again. Her parents would be gone after all. Her cold demeanor broke for a second as she let a small smile fall on her face. "Yeah…that works…thank you."

"No pro-" Andre didn't have time to accept Jade's gratitude. Before he knew it, Jade had wrapped her arms around his midsection in a hug. Her arms were tight around him, and actually placed some pressure on his ribcage. However, the rest of her body was still fairly far away. Basically, as far as she could keep it away without breaking the hug. Jade had her head down and her eyes closed.

Andre let out a soft laugh as he returned the hug in a slow manner. Jade was definitely trying…it was all he could hope for. If she would allow him to help her, Andre was almost certain he could provide some assistance. "You see…"

Jade opened her eyes slightly to look at Andre as he spoke.

"You're already doing better."

Almost instantly, Jade let out a scoff and quickly removed her hands. Andre wasn't offended when she actually pushed his body away slightly as she removed her hands from him and stood straight up. Rolling her eyes, Jade quickly readjusted the parts of her shirt that had got bunched up during the hug. "Tomorrow then?"

Andre nodded.

Confirmation was all she needed. Without another word, Jade quickly walked away.

**THE BUZZ**

Andre did his best to put his books in his locker Friday at the end of school, even though the giant swarm of students passing through the hall made it difficult. Feeling something nudge his ribcage, as he hands were at head level, Andre muttered, "Ohh…sorry…" even though he knew the fault lied on whoever carelessly bumped into him. Again, he felt the nudge on his ribcage, within a few seconds. Holding back against the small amount of aggression that bubbled up, Andre snapped his head in the direction of the contact.

Andre's mood lightened as soon as he saw Tori.

"Wow…" Tori said as her eyes grew a little. "Don't beat me up…I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Andre let out a small laugh as he quickly finished putting his books away and closed his lockers. Turning to face Tori, Andre smiled.

"I thought you were one of these…" Andre paused for a second as he couldn't come up with the right word. Tori waited patiently as she still looked at the students who were passing by them in both direction. "These…hooligans."

A huge smirk fell on Tori's face, which was mirrored by Andre. Within a second, they both burst into laughter.

"These darn kids these days, " Tori said, trying to change her voice to sound like an elderly woman. "With all their hippity hop music and-" Tori couldn't finish as another round of laughter hit Andre and herself hard.

When they had finally gained their bearings, Tori smiled at Andre. Feeling more comfortable, as the slight approach anxiety had faded away, Tori leaned against the nearest locker and pushed a few strands of stray hair behind her ear.

"So sup T?" Andre said as he also leaned against the closest locker, which happened to be his.

"You ready?" Tori asked.

"For…" Andre said slowly, not completely sure what she meant. He hoped he hadn't forgotten about something.

"To have fun? It's Friday…like…the best day of the week." Tori replied in a chipper manner.

Andre let out a short laugh. A moment before he was about to reply with a "Yes", his promise to help Jade popped into his head.

"Actually…" Andre said, "I'm not…"

Tori noticed Andre's attitude change. Instinctively, she closed the distance between Andre and herself some. Placing her hand on his nearest forearm, she gave Andre a concerned look. "You okay?"

"Yeah…I'm…" Andre responded, with his eyes darting around the hallway as he tried to think of something. Once he had an excuse, he returned to looking at Tori. "I'm just not feeling that great…"

"Awww…" Tori said in a sad voice.

"I think I'm just going to go home and crash." Andre said with a frown on his face.

"Ohhh…" Tori held back hints of sadness and curiosity as she looked at Andre. She wanted to spend time with him, even though she had seen him a little more than normal this week. However, Andre's suddenly not feeling well was about to prevent them from spending time together. He seemed fine in Sikowitz's class. Regardless, even though she was a little upset…she was more concerned for his well-being and health. "Okay…yeah…I hope you feel better."

Andre nodded his head and offered Tori a weak smile. "Yeah…I'll try…next week?"

Tori nodded in agreement. "Yeah…I'll hold you too it."

**THE BUZZ**

Ironically, by the time he was 10 feet away from Tori, Andre actually felt ill. He never lied, why would he now? In fact, if someone came up and asked him in a straightforward manner, "Are you in love with Tori Vega?" Andre would say yes. He may have grabbed them and pulled them to an isolated location before admitting it, but he wouldn't lie. Fighting back an urge to actually vomit, Andre made haste as he saw an exit to the school approaching.

An aggressive, loud, "Hey!" snapped Andre out of thought as his eyes fell on to the approaching Jade.

"Hey," Andre said in a defensive manner, turning to face Jade.

When she got within arms distance, Jade grabbed the fabric covering Andre's chest and pulled him closer to her eye level. Again, Andre said, "Hey!" but this time it was less than polite as Jade started to stretch out his t-shirt.

"Did you just make plans with Tori for today?" Jade said in a quiet tone so no one around them would hear her. However, Jade made up for the low volume with the hints of betrayal and anger in her words.

"What?" Andre said in defense, his mouth responding before his brain could decipher what he meant. The only thing he was thinking clearly about was getting one Ms. Jade West's hands off the collar of his shirt. However, before he could voice his thoughts Jade released her grip

Still staying close, Jade leaned in a few inches. "I saw you Andre…at your locker. Did you make plans with Tori?"

Finally understanding what she was talking about, Andre replied quickly. "No!"

Jade clenched her jaw as she gave Andre a stern look. Obviously, she didn't believe him.

Andre fought back hard against the anger that was bubbling up. Regardless of how hard he tried to stay calm, Andre was not fond of unnecessary and false accusations. It seems that only Jade could get him to act like…well, Jade.

"I didn't," Andre continued in a hushed, but harsh tone. "Because I remembered our arrangements…and considering the way you act…and are acting right now…it seems you need my help a little more than Tori needs or wants a friend to hang out with."

Immediately, Jade felt horrible. Once again, she had acted blindly and irrationally, and acted the exact way she no longer wanted to. "I'm…I'm-" Jade did her best to keep her voice level, but it cracked as she tried to utter an apology.

"I know…" Andre replied, his voice now holding only kindness and support for his friends. "There was no reason for you to think that I…I forgot about you…or I said…screw Jade…I want to hang out with Tori."

Jade stared fiercely into Andre's eyes as she nodded her head.

Andre let out a quiet, short laugh hoping to lighten the mood. "Actually, I almost did…but I remembered…and I told her that I was sick…so I couldn't hang out today."

Jade let out a short gasp, trying her best to hide a smirk that wanted to appear on her face. "You lied?" Jade questioned, not holding back her excitement and amusement as well as she could have.

Andre let out a sigh. "Yeah…and don't rub it in…I'm not happy about it."

The serious expression returned to Jade's face as she nodded her head.

"But," Andre said, the serious tone once again returning to his voice. "Even if I hadn't remembered…and made plans with Tori…I would have cancelled once I remembered."

Jade swallowed back and narrowed her eyes slightly, not at all expecting what Andre was saying.

"You are my friend…and I promised I would help you."

Jade nodded her head as she dropped her vision down towards her feet. At times, she knew she didn't deserve Andre's friendship. Regardless, he was truly a great friend and person. Even if Jade rarely tried to make it know, she appreciated him. Maybe, after Andre helped her, she would be able to voice her appreciation more often and more effectively.

Looking back up at Andre, Jade softly said, "Thank you."

Andre nodded. "No problem…but I got to head home. I'll text you later on, okay?"

"Yeah…sure…" Jade said quietly, and didn't move as she watched Andre make his way out of the school. Looking around the hallway that was starting to clear out, Jade's heartbeat quickened slightly as she saw Tori staring back at her. Jade was an expert at reading people's emotions, even if they were trying to hold them back. After all, she excelled at doing that exact thing herself. Therefore, when she was a curious, hurt, but mostly upset Tori staring back at her, Jade felt bad regardless of how well Tori made her face expressionless. Breaking eye contact, Jade turned towards the door of the school and started walking towards the parking lot.

**THE BUZZ**

"Wow," Beck said with a smile as he saw Cat in her modest, one piece summer dress. It was casual yet sexy and somewhat refined. "You look great."

"Thanks," Cat said, stopping to giggle as she spun in a circle. "The blue reminds me of the ocean."

Beck nodded his head and shared a small laugh with Cat. It was less awkward then most first dates, but Beck still felt relatively comfortable as he talked to her on her front porch. Besides, they had known each other for years. If a date was only constituted by hanging out, only with each other, than Cat and himself had been on at least a dozen dates.

Even though he had already ate, Beck tried to be polite. "So…are you hungry?"

Cat shot Beck a smile, but it quickly changed to a slight frown as she rubbed her neck. "Actually…I umm…" Cat let out a small giggle before finishing. "I already ate."

"Ohh…" Beck replied.

"Oh…I'm sorry." Cat replied in an apologetic tone as she frowned.

"No…it's okay." Beck replied, pausing for a second to also let out a small laugh. "I already ate too."

"Ohhh…" Cat said and shook her head. "Thanks for making me feel bad!"

"I'm sorry…" Beck said rubbing the back of his own neck.

"It's okay." Cat replied, and let out a small giggle.

Beck nodded his head. Although he was comfortable around Cat, he was starting to grow slightly more anxious with the passing seconds. He needed to say something to get them moving, even though it obviously wasn't going to be to a restaurant. "So umm….okay I got it." Beck replied. "Think of something random…and fun…that we could-"

"Swing sets." Cat said. Once she was done talking, she stared at Beck with a serious look. Nervously, she placed a hand over her lips for a second before dropping it back down to her side.

Beck fought back against a smile as he let his mouth fall open slightly. "Swing…sets?"

Cat nodded her head fiercely. In a pensive tone, she said, "They have them…at the park." Again, once she was done she stood quietly, and stared at Beck.

Beck tried not to laugh. "Do you…want to go to the park?"

"Yes!" Cat said as she clapped her hands. "How did you know?"

**THE BUZZ**

Jade West was evil. She had to be. Tori would think sometimes she was a normal, functioning member of society. However, as soon as she let her guard down she regretted it. Hell, Jade had used cosmetic wizardry to give herself a fake black eye, just trying to get Tori kicked out of Hollywood Arts. Jade West was evil.

Tori had grown to accept this. Besides, she wasn't always evil and it was nice to have her in your corner. However, Andre Harris was a saint. A gorgeous, tall, dark, handsome, kind, immaculate…basically, Andre Harris was not evil. Tori didn't know what Jade was up to. However, she had witnessed Jade sink her claws into Andre at school on Thursday, and take him off to who knows where. It had plagued her thoughts all of Thursday night. Then, Andre didn't seem himself. After that, Tori wasn't sure what she witnessed between Jade and Andre. Still, is seemed private, personal, and just not right.

Tori had to ask Andre what was going on. Plus, Andre was acting weird, said he was sick, and Tori was concerned about his health. She was only killing two birds with one stone.

Taking a deep breath, Tori knocked softly on Andre's front door. The few second that passed by seemed like a few minutes. When she was about to knock again, Tori could hear someone approaching. Tori smiled at the middle aged women who appeared when the door finally opened.

"Oh hi Tori." Andre's mother, who insisted on being called Denise, said in a happy voice.

"Hi Mrs. Harris," Tori replied in an equally joyous tone. Tori asked, "Is Andre around?" expecting Denise to confirm, and invite her inside.

"Oh no darling, he's not..." Denise replied with an apologetic frown on her face.

A clear amount of confusion fell on Tori's face for a second, or at least surprise. "Oh…okay…well ummm-"

"Oh that boy," Denise said in a slightly irritated voice. "He didn't make plans with you and forget…did he Tori?"

"Ohh…" Tori muttered, wondering for half a second if she should lie or be honest. She didn't want Mrs. Harris thinking she came over all the time uninvited, even if she did. Tori thought, even though it was never said, she was always welcome over. However, Tori didn't know if Mrs. Harris would like her as much if she had any idea how often she was over, completely alone, with her son. "No…I just wanted to…" Letting her mind go on a tangent, Tori changed from giving an answer to asking a question. "Do you happen to know where he went Mrs. Harris?"

"Denise…please Tori. Mrs. Harris makes me feel…so old."

Tori nodded her head, hoping that Mrs. Harris would answer the question.

"Yes darling, Andre was going over…" Denise paused for a moment as she looked at the ground. Remembering the girl's name, Denise rose her head to look back towards Tori. "Jade's house."

Tori eyes bulged slightly. Doing her best to act nonchalant and unaffected, which was extremely hard, Tori gave Mrs. Harris a small nod. "Oh…okay." As soon as she replied, Tori broke eye contact with Mrs. Harris. While Tori's belief that Andre was actually sick was rapidly fading, concern about Andre's health were still on her mind. Looking back at Mrs. Harris, Tori waited a second before talking. "Uhh…is he feeling okay?"

Tori decided to give more details when she noticed the confused look on Denise's face.

"He was feeling sick towards the end of school today."

"Was he really?" Mrs. Harris questioned, with her motherly instincts causing some worry to crawl into her speech. "Hmmm…I hope he's okay. He seemed like something was on his mind…he didn't really seem sick though…"

"Oh…okay." Tori replied softly.

"How sick was he in school?" Once again, a mother's worry for her child was apparent in Denise's tone.

Being somewhat honest, Tori replied, "It didn't seem bad at all. It was actually really sudden. I bet he just had something bad for lunch…or something." Truthfully, even if Andre had seemed violently ill, Tori wouldn't have said so. She didn't want to stress Mrs. Harris out for no reason, especially if Andre felt good enough to go over Jade's house. He couldn't be sick at all, he was just lying to her. Why was he lying?

"I see," Denise said as the worry in her voice subsided for the most part.

"Well umm…sorry to bother you Mrs.- …Denise. I better be heading home now."

Denise nodded and gave Tori another huge smile. "Please stop by anytime Tori…you know you are welcome here."

Tori nodded and said, "Thank you," as she started to turn away from the front door.

"Tori?"

"Hmm…" Tori responded as she turned her head back to look at Mrs. Harris.

"Was that all you needed…or was there something you needed Andre for?"

"No," Tori said with a smile, as she played it off well, "I just wanted to make sure he was feeling okay."

Mrs. Harris' smile grew at Tori's comment. "Okay."

Again, Tori nodded. Being her usual polite self, Tori said, "Bye."

Mrs. Harris quickly responded, "Bye Tori."

Closing the door behind her, Mrs. Harris shook her head slightly with a smile on her face. To herself, Denise said, "What a darling girl."

**THE BUZZ**

A round of laughter was shared by Beck and Cat, at something the redhead had said. By the time it ended, as they continued walking through the park, they had forgotten what they were originally talking about.

In a sweet voice, Cat looked at Beck as she walked beside him. "Thanks."

"Hmmm?"

"For tonight," Cat replied, "It was a lot of fun."

"Yeah…and you're welcome." Beck smiled at Cat for a few seconds before returning his eye sight in front of him.

Cat slowed down her pace, "Beck…can I ask you something?" At the same time, Cat and Beck stopped walking. Taking a step back towards Cat, Beck nodded his head.

"Is this umm…" Cat pursed her lips as she tried to think of the right words to say. "Why did you write that letter?"

"Ohhh…" Beck said, and rubbed his neck with his right hand. "Yeah…I figured this had to come up sometime."

Cat nodded, "Well…yeah…"

"I umm…I don't know why I wrote it."

Beck's reply was simple. However, it was too simple for Cat as she threw her hands out slightly from her sides and gave him a questioning look.

"I…I love Jade…I still do." Beck broke eye contact as he noticed a few joggers in the distance. Looking back at Cat, Beck continued to explain. "Even if we don't…get better…or get back together…I'll always love her."

Cat nodded with a supportive look on her face. Knowing she only wanted to listen, Beck continued with his train of thought.

"We…complimented each other in a lot of respect…but at the same time…" Beck let out a loud sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. "Not at all. I thought that she would open up…and she did some…when it was just her and me…but we've been going out for two years." Pain was apparent on Beck's face as he quickly corrected his words. "We had been going out for two years."

Cat dropped her head towards the ground, feeling sympathy for Beck.

"And I see you…and you have no problems opening up to anybody…at all."

Cat looked up towards Beck as she let a small smile fall on her face.

"I feel like…I've known both of you for years…since freshman year actually…and we've just been friends…I dated Jade…and I still know more about you than I do about her."

Cat nodded her head, expecting Beck to continue talking. When he didn't, Cat realized he wanted to know if she understood what he meant. "Yeah…"

"Cat…I…I don't know…to be completely honest…and I mean this in no way offending…" Beck did his best to stare sincerely into Cat's eyes as he spoke. "…But…I don't know if I want you…or I just want Jade to be more like you."

The small smile fell off of Cat's face as she nodded her head. Even though she tried not to, Cat ending up staring at the ground. She knew exactly what Beck meant, and she did her best not to take it offensively.

"But…" Beck reached out and softly placed his hand under Cat's chin. Lifting it up slowly, he waited until Cat was looking at him until he returned his hand to his side. "I do know this. You have been one of my best friends for years…and I enjoy being with you…and I enjoy your company."

Cat nodded her head and the small smile managed to return itself to her face.

"I just…" Beck swallowed back before completing his sentence. "I just want to take it slow…I don't want to rush anything."

Again, Cat nodded.

"I don't know if this was a date…or just two friends hanging out. I don't know if it was a date…just because we said it was a date." Beck shook his head and let out a laugh at how stupid he sounded. Cat laughed with him for a few seconds. When the silence returned, Beck said, "But I had fun tonight…with you…like always. So…"

Cat stared intently as she waited for what Beck was going to say next.

"Can we just keep taking this slow…and just see where it goes? Either way…I'm happy just to get a chance to spend time with Cat Valentine."

Cat let out a soft giggle and did her best to hide a small blush on her face. Nodding her head, Cat replied, "Yeah…" as she closed the distance between Beck and herself and wrapped him in a hug.

**THE BUZZ**

"No thank you sir," Jade said in an extremely calm voice. "I would not like a sandwich."

"Come on miss," Andre replied, "I make amazing sandwiches…everyone says so."

"I believe you," Jade said pointedly, still managing to maintain her composure. "But truly…I am not hungry…thank you though."

"Come on, I know you want a sandwich."

Jade took in a slightly uneven breathe. "No thank you…I don't want a sandwich."

"Come on…I know you want a sandwich."

"I don't want a sandwich." Although her voice had remained at a normal talking volume, Jade's composure finally cracked as her words held anger and frustration.

"Have a sandwich."

"I DON'T WANT A SANDWICH!" Jade screamed.

Andre sat back in his position on the couch, silently, and didn't say a word. Jade let out a grunt as the silence set back in. Leaning forward in her seat, Jade placed her head in her hands and let out a sigh.

"That was a lot better." Andre said, in an attempt to provide positive reinforcement. Jade shot a look of disbelief towards Andre. "…For real Jade…much better."

"This is stupid," Jade said with a little bit of frustration in her voice, "Why are we doing this…you never even explained."

"You need to work on your filter." Andre replied.

"My what?" Jade retorted.

"Look," Andre started as he turned in his seat and placed his feet on the couch. Jade did the same until she was sitting indian style. "Everyone wants to snap at times…and people do…but some…people…do a little more often than others."

"Hah…" Jade let out a scoff. "Thanks…"

"Hey…I'm just saying…" Andre paused as a lightbulb went off in his head. "Ohh…perfect example…"

Jade raised an eyebrow as she listened intently to what Andre was saying.

"I almost punched Tori in the face today…"

"What?" Jade exclaimed, scooting forward in her seat half a foot.

"Not on purpose!" Andre exclaimed in his own defense. Jade gave him a questioning look, her way of telling Andre to prove it. "It was the end of the day…and I was just trying to put my books away in my locker…without getting ran over by the stampede."

Jade nodded her head. In fact, she had went off on unlucky students plenty of times that happened to be the third or fourth person to accidentally bump her in the crowded hall.

"And going to my locker…like three people already bumped into me. Then, I get to my locker and I'm putting stuff in…and i feel something nudge into my ribs." Andre started talking with his hands to make the story slightly better. "It was Tori…but I didn't know…I just thought it was another of our classmates who was too busy talking to his friend to look at where he was walking…but it was Tori. So…when she nudged me again like a second later…"

"Yep…" Jade said with a nod, "I see where this is going."

"I snapped my head towards Tori…and I had the urge to scream…but I bit my tongue…so to speak."

Jade nodded her head, understanding the point Andre was trying to make.

"I'm glad I did…because it was Tori. But," Andre readjusted himself where he was sitting to get a little more comfortable. "Even if it was someone else…that ran into me…I wouldn't have actually hit them or yelled."

Jade nodded her head, "That…is where you and me are different Andre."

"But it…" Andre let out a sigh. "It doesn't have to be like that. Hey…do you think the nicest, most polite people aren't the same way as you?"

"They aren't," Jade said quickly, "They are polite and nice…I'm not."

Andre let out a grunt. "Not true…" Andre replied, his voice and temper being a bit shorter than he wanted it to be. "Even right now…I could be like…what the hell Jade…do you want my help or not!" Andre put his hands out to his sides waiting for Jade nod. When she only shrugged, Andre continued speaking. "The only difference between…a…nice girl…and a mean girl…is how often they can just roll their eyes or scoff instead of flip out….and I know you are good at both of those things."

Jade's mouth fell open as she did her best to let out an offended scoff.

"See?" Andre replied quickly as he pointed a finger at her.

"Shut up Andre!" Jade said, attempting to sound mad. However, it wasn't long before they were both laughing on the couch.

After their laughter fell away, Jade nodded her head. "You're right…"

Andre nodded, but before he could reply his cell phone went off in his pocket. Readjusting himself on the couch so he could pull it on of his pocket, nervousness crept up in Andre as he looked at his phone.

"Who is it?" Jade questioned.

"Uhhh…It's Tori…"

In a concerned voice, Jade leaned forward and said, "Andre…don't answer it."

"I got too…" Andre said. The only condolence he offered Jade was a small frown as if to say "I'm sorry."

"You can't tell her you are over here." Jade replied quickly. She knew how Tori felt about Andre. She had saw the way Tori looked at her today after school, and that was only after they had talked for a minute. Surprising herself, most of the reason she didn't want Tori knowing Andre was over her house…was so Tori wouldn't get upset or hurt.

"I…" Andre let out a sigh as he continued staring down at his phone. "I won't tell her I'm over here."

Jade nodded her head as she looked out Andre. Slowly, Andre nodded his head at Jade. Finally, after taking a deep breathe, Andre answered his phone.

**THE BUZZ**

Trying to ignore the fact she felt slightly like a stalker, Tori parked her car behind the vehicle that belonged to Andre. Looking out her passenger side window, Tori quickly scanned Jade's house. Letting out a sigh, she ran her hands through her hair. Getting an idea, Tori pulled out her cell phone. Once she had selected Andre's name, she started typing a text. Staring down at what she had wrote, Tori deleted the word "Hey" from her cell phone screen. Deciding on a new plan, she reselected Andre's name. Holding it up to the side of her face, Tori let out another sigh as she heard the ringing.

Trying to breathe evenly, Tori did her best to act like nothing was wrong when Andre answered after the third ring.

_"Hey Tori, what's up?"_

_"Hey…nothing much…I just wanted to see if you were feeling okay? You had me a little scared at school today." _Tori did her best to sound concerned and worried, even though the cause of it was no longer Andre's health. She hoped he felt guilt. Andre lied to her…he better feel guilty.

_"Uhhh…yeah…I'm feeling a little better…thanks."_

Trying to act as sweet as possible, and see if Andre would continued to lie, Tori continued her naive act. _"Good…hey if you need someone to take care of you... I'll come over."_

_"Uhhh…no thanks T…really... I'm fine…thanks again though."_

_"Yeah…no problem…" _Tori did her best to prevent the disappointment she was experiencing from carrying over into her speech.

_"I'm just laying in bed right now…I'm probably going to pass out real soon. Try to sleep this thing off…you know?"_

_"…Yeah…I know what you mean…"_

_"Okay well…thank you for calling Tori…I'll talk to you tomorrow then?"_

Tori swallowed back hard, trying not to take note of the stinging sensation in the back of her throat. _"Uhh…if you want…yeah"_

_"Haha…yeah of course…why wouldn't I?"_

_"I don't know Andre…I'm just saying…if you are busy. Or if you have plans with someone else…that's okay…"_

_"Okay yeah…but I don't…so I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"_

_Again, Tori swallowed back against a painful lump that was growing in her throat. "Okay sure…"_

_"Okay."_

_"Okay."_

_"Tori…you alright?"_

_"Yeah I'm fine…I'm just tired too. I'll talk to you tomorrow Andre."_

_"Yeah sounds good…goodnight Tori."_

_"Night,"_

Once she had pressed the end button on her cell phone, Tori carelessly tossed it on to her passenger seat. Resting her elbows against the steering wheel, Tori rubbed her hands through her hair and over her face. Having no idea what was going on, Tori's breathing became uneven as she fought back the urge to sob. All at once, Tori removed her head from her hands and sat up straight in her car seat as her mouth dropped open.

Turning around and placing her knees on her seat, Tori dived into the back seat. Forcefully throwing a few random textbooks from school out of the way, she found the piece of paper she was looking for. Just as quickly, she returned to facing forward in her seat as she turned the front page of the paper. When she finally reached Andre's section of the paper, she skimmed the article until she found the part she was looking for. The part Andre had written in reply to her letter, and the same part that had worried her all week. Slowing down, Tori read over Andre's words carefully.

**I can really relate to the issue you are having. One time, I was in love with a close female friend, and I went through the same struggle in my head. Unfortunately, I was to scared of losing her friendship to try to see if there was something more to us. So yes, we are still friends and I am happy about that, but I am forever stuck wondering what if.**

"No way…" Tori said with a voice holding disbelief, but it wouldn't have fooled anyone. "No…" Again, Tori couldn't even convince herself as her voice shacked unevenly. Letting out a muffled scream, Tori crumpled up the paper and threw it towards the other side of the car. As before, Tori propped her head against her hands as she rested her body on the steering wheel. Finally, after a few minutes, she put the car in drive, and headed home. As she drove home quickly, one thought popped up in her brain over all the rest. It was confirmed. Jade West was evil.


	8. Dumb Ass

The Buzz

Chapter 8

Dumb Ass

Tori didn't answer Andre's calls on Saturday, or Sunday for that matter. Not understanding why Tori was avoiding his call, Andre brushed it off. Assuming she was busy, Andre spent every evening after dinner with Jade on the weekend. Andre saw moderate improvements by Sunday night. He knew it wasn't natural. Regardless, training was just as it sounded. A dog never wanted to sit or roll over. A dog wanted the treat that ensued. Social acceptance and falling back into Beck's good graces was the proverbial dog treat to Jade.

The time she had spent with Andre served Jade well after the third student in a row bumped into her on Monday morning. Jade let out a low growl before she turned her head away from her locker.

"Oh…sorry," squealed a girl a few year younger than Jade, clearly scared.

"It's okay…just be careful." Jade managed to keep anger and aggression off her face as the younger girl nodded her head. Regardless, it was obvious she was less than thrilled.

The young girl replied, "Yeah…sorry again" as she quickly turned around and headed towards her first period class. Jade didn't return the gesture until the girl had turned her back, and by that time her normal scowl had appeared on the young female's face.

Jade quickly returned to retrieving her books from her locker's top compartment. A soft, "Hey," that sounded familiar gained Jade's attention. Taking Andre's advice, Jade literally bit the tip of her tongue as she turned her head. Jade did her best to fight back the small amounts of anger that boiled up in her. It was the same girl. At least she didn't elbow her in the ribs this time.

"Yes?" Jade questioned as evenly toned as possible.

"I-I just wanted to say that my name is Jen…" The young girl muttered as she attempted to avoid Jade's eye contact.

"Uhhh…" Jade couldn't think of a valid reply. "…Okay?"

The young girl finally gained the courage to look Jade in the eyes. "I've just seen you around a lot…but I've never gotten the chance to say hello."

"Ohhh…" Jade replied, feeling a small amount of happiness mixed with uncomfortableness. She wasn't used to making friends. "My…name is Jade."

"Yeah, I know," The younger girl replied with a small smile on her face. "But ummm…I got to get to class. I'll see you around okay?"

Jade's only reply was a muffled, "Sure…" as the girl shot her another smile and walked away. She wasn't sure if the question was rhetorical or actually required an answer.

Turning her attention back towards her locker for a third time, Jade allowed a small smirk to appear on her face. She didn't want to admit it, but Andre was right. This whole "kindness" thing did…Jade wasn't able to finish her though.

**THE BUZZ**

Tori rarely left her room since she got home on Friday night. Excluding bathroom breaks and retrieving food from the kitchen a few times a day, Tori stayed within the four walls of her spacious bedroom all weekend. Trina attempted to get her to go to the mall. She refused. Her parents asked her if she was alright on multiple occasions. She lied. Andre and other friends called and texted. She never answered or replied. When Tori wasn't on an emotional roller coaster thinking about Andre, Jade, or both of them at the same time, she did her best to block it all out. Needless to say, most of her time was spent thinking about Andre and Jade.

She had the whole speech planned out as she stormed through Hollywood Art's hallways on Monday morning. The hurtful things she would say, the counter arguments she had planned to what Jade would retaliate with, and the list went on. Tori was going to publicly embarrass, humiliate, and ridicule Jade West until she was no more. If it was physically possible to kill with words, Tori would soon be facing at least second degree murder.

Tori quickly went over her opening argument as she turned the last corner. The hallway wasn't as crowded as normal and Tori quickly spotted Jade. Within an instant, her entire speech was forgotten. Jade was actually talking to another student. This was perfect. Jade was defenseless. Halfway across the hallway, the younger girl left. Tori's window of opportunity was closing. Regardless, she closed the remaining distance quickly as she jogged the last few steps. When she was within a few feet of Jade, Tori reached out with both hands. Grabbing as much black hair as her petite hands would allow, Tori attempted to throw Jade to the ground with no avail.

"Owww! What the-…Tori?!" Jade screamed as she managed to pull her head up enough to see her attacker. instinctively, Jade grabbed onto Tori's wrists and tried to pry her hands off her hair. Unfortunately, Tori's hands seemed to be surgically attached.

Unable to come up with words, Jade went a few more seconds struggling against Tori's deathtrap. Jade was no longer attempting to remove Tori's hand. She was only trying to keep the entirety of her hair intact. She could feel the strain and knew that within seconds Tori's hands would come off. Unfortunately, Jade wasn't willing to give up one-fourth of the hair on her head that would come with them. Finally, Jade managed to formulate words.

"TORI!" Jade screamed again, "LET GO!"

For reasons unknown to Jade, Tori listened. Jade stumbled back a few feet as Tori returned her hands to her sides. Staring into eyes that seemed glazed over with hate for her, Jade's anger barely beat out her fear.

"What the hell is wrong with you Tori?!"

Tori surprised herself as the heartbreak immediately overpowered the rage she felt only seconds before. Breaking down into sobs, Tori managed to reply in an equally loud tone, "What…the hell is wrong with you?!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE THAT JUST ASSAULTED ME!" Jade boomed, gaining the attention of any student in the hallway who hadn't seen the physicality between Tori and herself. "I COULD HAVE YOU EXPELLED!"

"You…" Tori started, fighting back a few sob before continuing. "You would like that…wouldn't you?"

"YEAH, I WO-" Jade's train of thought changed in unison with Tori's body language in emotions. Enough pity crept into Jade's emotional state that it allowed her to think somewhat clearly. "Tori, what is wrong with you?"

"I get it okay," Tori said in a low tone, no longer wanting the rest of the hallway to hear. "I get it."

Hoping it wasn't a foolish decision, Jade took a step closer to Tori. The brunette didn't seem like she would attack again. Well, unless she was the type to break down crying and sobbing to get her prey to let their guard down. Matching Tori's soft tone, Jade replied, "What are you talking about?"

"Congratulations…you know I wrote that letter about Andre," Tori stopped speaking as she sniffled and wiped a few tears from her face. "I know you hate me…but you've reached a new low."

Jade did her best not to raise her voice, but the anger mixed with confusion made it difficult. "WHAT ARE-" Jade exhaled before she lowered her voice back down. "What are you talking about Tori?"

The lack of volume in Tori's words were more than made up for in anger. "You know what I'm talking about?"

"If your talking about why you just attempted to rip my entire head of hair…off my body…then no Tori…i don't!"

All that Tori could manage was, "Friday night…" as she fought against another wave of emotion.

Before replying, Jade quickly looked around the hallway. Thankfully, most of the students that saw the hair pulling were already out of the hallway or on their way towards class. "Tori, what about-"

"Andre was over your house." Tori said in an angry voice, cutting Jade off.

Jade didn't have a reply as her eyes grew slightly larger.

"Don't even try to lie," Tori continued as she swallowed back hard. "I know he was."

"Look," Jade said in a sympathetic tone. "It's not what you think T-"

"Yes it is," Tori spat back in Jade's direction, "Because I know you…and you hate me."

"I don't hate-" Once again, Jade was unable to finish her statement.

"I understand, I really do." Tori said doing her best to quickly wipe her face again. "The first day of school I embarrass you…and I kiss your boyfriend…so I understand…"

"Ex-boyfriend…" Jade replied in a sad voice. Regardless, it went unheard by Tori.

Tori stared into Jade's eyes as she wanted to get her point across more than ever. "I mean you already hate EVERYBODY!" Tori threw her hands to her sides for added effect. "And that includes people that are nice too you…so you must really hate me…"

"I don't…" Jade stopped as she let out a frustrated sigh and played with her hands in front of her body. After a second, she slowly extended them towards Tori. "I don't understand what you're talking about…or…what you THINK I'm doing."

"I know Andre used to have feelings for you…and I know you think of him as just a friend." Tori replied.

"He is just a-Wait…Andre does not have feeling for me." Jade replied as the entire room felt like it was spinning. Hopefully, Tori would start to make some sense. Otherwise, her head might explode.

Tori let out a scoff. "He said so in the letter…the letter I wrote him for the newspaper…" Tori stopped to allow Jade to reply.

Jade shook her head. God, it really was hard NOT to hate Tori at times. She was a stellar student at Hollywood Arts but sometimes she really was dumb. In fact, Andre was dumb as a box of rocks himself. How could Andre honestly not realize it was Tori that wrote the letter about him? How the hell could Tori honestly think Andre had a crush on anyone but her?

After a few seconds passed without a reply, Tori continued. "The same newspaper that you wrote a letter…saying you loved Robbie? You don't love Robbie!"

"I know t-"

"He's just someone that you could walk all over…unlike Beck. Am I right?" Not even realizing how frequently she was interrupting, Tori finally gave Jade a chance to speak.

Jade bit her tongue again. She wasn't the typical girl. She was glad about that. However, when in a heated argument she felt more like a teenage boy trying to get a word in edgewise with his teenager girlfriend. Apparently, Tori was her lesbian lover. Either way, Jade honestly felt she might slap Tori if she interrupted her one more time.

Unfortunately, Tori had basically hit the nail on the head. She had already realized she never wanted Robbie. She wanted someone weak willed though. It was getting irritating and aggravating when Beck continuously attempted to get her to open up. Looking back now, she was a bigger idiot than Andre or Tori. If only she had started this internal makeover with Robbie about three months ago instead of three days.

"It's more complicated than that…" Jade let out a low sigh after replying to Tori's question. With everything that was running through her head, was that really the best she could come up with?

Tori shook her head, dropping her eyes to the floor before looking back at Jade. With as much venom in her words as possible, Tori replied, "When you want Beck back this time…don't come looking for help."

Jade dropped her head. Part of her wanted to slap Tori across the face for saying that. However, a larger part of her wanted to never talk to Tori again, walk away upset, or slap her in the face and then start crying. She was starting to think like a girl. She was starting to FEEL like a girl. Jade was feeling sick to her stomach. Andre said this change would help her improve her relationships, friendships, get Beck back, and keep Beck. Andre said NOTHING about this change making her susceptible to teenage girl emotions.

Again, Jade's reply didn't reflect the amount of thoughts running through her head. In a voice holding hints of sadness, all Jade managed was, "Tori…"

"You love Beck..." Tori's tone was nothing but serious as she looked at Jade.

"I do…" Jade managed as she swallowed back a little harder than normal.

Maintaining the serious tone, Tori continued her statement. "Beck loves you…"

"I…" Jade wasn't able to formulate words.

"So…rather than be happy…" Tori paused as tears and the sobs that slowly disappeared came back in full force. "You would rather break Beck's heart….and break Andre's heart…just to break mine…"

"Tori," Jade replied quickly trying to squash her thoughts. Tori couldn't honestly think she was being physical with Andre or leading him on to hurt everyone involved. However, she knew that's exactly how Tori felt and she didn't really blame her. "It's not like that…listen…"

Tori honored Jade's request. However, the look on Tori's face didn't make Jade feel at ease telling her story. Trying to come up with the best way to explain it, and not give away why Andre was actually there, Jade paused for a second. The best idea Jade had was to tell only truth, just leave out the private lessons Andre was giving her on how to be a normal member of society.

"I called him…I missed Beck…and I didn't know what to do…" Jade paused for a second. Fighting against stinging at the corners of both eyes, Jade swallowed back hard. She didn't cry. She was NOT going to cry, and she was definitely NOT going to cry in front of Tori Vega. "And we both know I don't…exactly…have friends."

The tone in Jade's voice struck a chord in Tori. Tori felt the slightest bit of guilt for the way she approached Jade. Regardless, it was too late to change that now.

"I push them away…" Jade continued with her head spinning. Not even realizing it, Jade's voice was shaking enough Tori could tell she was attempting not to cry. "So I needed his help…he's the only one besides Cat that would come help me out…and Cat wouldn't know what to do."

Swallowing back hard, Jade did her best to stay in control of her emotions.

Taking most of the anger out of her voice, Tori replied, "He lied to me…he was at your house…and…" After wiping tears from her face, Tori looked around the hallway. She just realized that the bell was probably going to be ringing for class any minute. A small amount of panic set in. "…He said he was…in bed relaxing…"

Jade's voice was barely above a whisper. "Listen…"

Some of the anger in Tori's words. "Was he in bed relaxing…was he in…your bed relaxing?" The special emphasis on the last word didn't go unnoticed by Jade.

"No," Jade said in a matter of fact tone. Seeing an opportunity to actually talk, Jade tried to provide more clarity. "He lied…because I told him too…"

Tori managed to squeak out, "Why…"

"Because…I didn't want people knowing I was upset about Beck." Jade blinked her eyes a few times, trying not to notice the burning sensation, as she tried to think of how to explain it. "You…you know how I am…AND…because of this…I didn't want you thinking anything bad…"

Tori's felt held nothing but skepticism at Jade's answers.

"Then again," Jade said as her voice stopped wavering. "If you make someone lie about being at your house…so other the person doesn't think anything…and they find out….it's kind of pointless."

"I can't believe you…" Tori maintained eye contact "You aren't even acting like yourself…that's how I know you're lying."

Jade's jaw literally dropped. Shaking her head slowly, Jade internally laughed at the irony of Tori's statement.

"You might be capable of love…" Tori started, "But you are not capable of compassion Jade."

Jade's eyes continued to dart around as she let out a deep sigh. This was completely pointless. About the same time she was about to walk away, Jade remembered the dumbest thing of all that Tori had said.

"Do you really think Andre's reply," Jade said slowly, as she fought back the urge to smack her palm off her forehead. "Talking about that girl…that he USED to like…that was a friend…is me?" Jade twisted her face up at the end of her statement. "Because…it's not me…"

Tori felt her heartbeat immediately quicken as Jade's words sunk in. Trying to maintain composure, Tori replied as calmly as possible. "Yeah okay…then who is it?"

Jade's forehead immediately met up with her hand. Preemptively rubbing away a headache she could feel starting to come on, Jade got lost in thought. It wasn't her place. Tori is stupid. They were going to be late for class. She just remembered she forgot to do her homework for History of Theatre. The list was long and mind-numbing.

Finally dropping her hand from her face, Jade gave Tori a irritated expression. "Think about it…it's not hard."

Worry and panic overtook Tori. Quickly rehashing everything that had happened over the last week or so, Tori felt nauseous. She knew Andre. He wouldn't date Jade. He would date Cat. Hell, she even knew Cat went over there sometimes and they were alone. Who knows how many times Andre broke plans, which he didn't do frequently, and it was because Cat was over…relaxing on HIS bed.

"He's i-"

Tori's words went unheard as the bell signifying the start of first period rang.

Wanting confirmation from Jade, Tori repeated her question. "He's in love with Cat."

"You dumb ass," Jade immediately spat back towards Tori without even attempting to use her filter. Needless to say, Andre would be displeased.

"Why am I dumb?" Tori questioned with as slight bit of hurt in her voice.

Clearly, Tori took Jade's words the wrong way. Throwing her hands to her side, Jade exclaimed, "Oh my God!"

Tori wasn't processing what she was saying. Jade had tried so hard. Really, she did great. She would have probably punched Tori twice by now, or at least grabbed and tugged on her hair as payback.

"He's in love with YOU," Jade said sounding out every word. To prevent confusion, Jade paused for about two seconds before completing her statement. "Dumb ass."

Tori immediately froze. Jade shook her head as Tori stared at her. She really, really needed one of those stress balls you squeeze. Otherwise, she might be nice to Tori 99 times…then break her legs on the 100th. Either way, it was a morale victory.

After about five seconds, Tori replied barely above a whisper. "He…he was talking about me?"

"Yep," Jade replied. Without another word, she turned around and headed towards class.


	9. Four Letter Words

Jade wanted to slap Andre and Tori. She had literally just told Tori that the man she loved felt the same way about her. Still, Tori had spent the entirety of Sikowitz's class sitting next to Andre, and nothing happened. The body language and minimal communication between Andre and Tori seemed pleasant, but fireworks never went off. They were almost as bad as Beck and her sitting right next to each other. Regardless of how much she could change, she would ALWAYS hate assigned seats. The only thing that made it worse was sitting next to the person you loved while they did everything to ignore your existence.

It made sense. Jade could understand. Tori had no reason to trust her. The initial shock was probably replaced by doubt and disbelief. Tori probably thought she was mocking her, or setting her up for the most embarrassing moment of her life when she admitted her unrequited love for Andre directly to his face.

Jade was ready to scream. Seriously, how hard was it to tell someone you loved them? How hard was it to tell someone you were in love with them, when you know they felt the same?

Realization hit Jade like a ton of bricks. Beck looked directly at Jade when he heard her mutter, "Oh…my…god!" Concern crept up in Beck when he saw the look of horror on Jade's face.

"Are you alright?" Beck questioned in a soft voice. He lost his breathe when Jade looked into his eyes. She looked like she was about to cry. Just as quickly, Jade turned her attention towards the front of the room. Her eyes didn't move, and they didn't follow Sikowitz as he paced back and forth on the stage. When the bell finally rang a few minutes later, Jade was out of the classroom before anyone else had even gathered their belongings.

**THE BUZZ**

Tori tried to act normal around Andre, but hadn't said much during class. She hoped Andre attributed it to the hour of the day and lack of caffeine. More importantly, she hoped that Andre hadn't picked up on her uneasiness around him. Honestly, she had no reason to be uneasy around Andre. Jade was lying. It was a trap and Jade was setting her up for failure and humiliation. Jade also knew that it would eat her up inside, and that even though it was a lie, her heart would hope and wish it was true. Jade West was evil **AND** a liar. It wasn't true, but apparently she was an idiot. She was falling into Jade's trap, walking a few paces behind Andre. When he stopped at his locker, she was going to bring it up. She was going to confront him. She was going to say things, honest things, and how she felt. It was going to be embarrassing, and Jade was going to win.

Tori remembered how happy she was at first with her locker assignment. It was so close to all of her "friends". Jade's locker was about 10 feet to the left and Andre's was about 20 feet to the right. Beck's was right across the hallway. The furthest away was Cat, and her locker was only about halfway down the hallway on the same side as her own. It was so convenient. If she timed it right all of her friends, and the evil monster that was Jade, could see the most embarrassing moment of her life unfold from front row seats. Beck was already at his locker, and Cat was near her own. This was going to be fantastic.

Tori came to a complete stop when she saw one of the rarest things in the entire world. This was the second time she had seen it. Tori couldn't believe how amazing her day was quickly becoming, and she sure as hell couldn't believe an evil mastermind with a plot didn't reside directly behind those mascara stained cheeks.

**THE BUZZ**

Andre overanalyzed things at times, and he knew that. Regardless, something was up with Tori. He needed to find out what it was. He was lost in thought, all of which pertained to Tori, as he made his way from Sikowitz's class to his locker. Andre hoped that maybe Tori had just forgot to have caffeine or didn't get enough sleep.

Andre jumped half a foot when he felt someone clutch onto his arm. "Andre," Jade squeaked, "We need to talk, now."

Andre's eyes grew as he looked at Jade. "Are you okay?" He questioned, "What's wrong?" Andre swallowed back hard. It wasn't often that he saw Jade cry, in fact it was never. Even if Andre didn't believe it, the makeup that was already staining her face in long streaks was more than enough proof.

"I need to talk," Jade managed to reply, her voice shaking. "Privately."

Andre immediately replied, "Of course."

Only days before, Jade had drug Andre halfway up the staircase leading to the second floor by his wrist. This time she let go before walking and Andre followed closely behind. Still, they both knew they were heading towards the library. Ironically enough, that part of the school always seemed to be the most desolate.

**THE BUZZ**

Robbie threw away Rex. Rex was dead. He didn't have Rex all day, and **NO ONE** noticed. Not even his friends noticed, although they were preoccupied with more drama than an episode of Dawson's Creek at the present moment. He was a nobody to some people, to a lot of people, but Robby Shapiro realized something. He was somebody. Furthermore, he didn't care how many people thought he was as nobody. He just wanted people who were important in his life to recognize he was somebody. Apparently, verbally bitch slapping the fiercest teenage girl in California instilled a degree of confidence.

"Cat," Robbie said in a serious tone. Immediately after speaking, Robbie took a few shallow breaths as he waited for Cat to turn around.

"Hey Robbie," Cat said with a smile and a short giggle afterwards, "What's up?"

A small part of Robbie wanted to smile when his brain registered Cat's warm greeting. Regardless, he wouldn't allow distraction. In the same serious tone, Robbie continued, "You can't date Beck."

The smile fell off of Cat's face. "I'm not Robbie," Cat said in the most sincerest voice possible, hoping Robbie believed her. "We agreed that we are better off as-"

"You can't date him, Cat." Robbie repeated, cutting Cat off before her words sunk it. "It's wrong. Jade and Beck are…" Robbie threw his hands out to his sides and let out a frustrated grunt as he tried to find the right words. "Horrible for each other, honestly! But somehow…perfect for each other. You can't mess with love."

"I'm not dating him Robbie!" Cat exclaimed, begging Robbie to believe her with the look in her eyes.

Robbie stared at Cat for a few seconds. He wanted to smile and do a couple cartwheels, but he wasn't done yet. "Good," Robbie said in a low voice. Again, Cat gave Robbie a warm smile. Robbie allowed his exterior to crack momentarily, and quickly returned the smile before continuing his tangent. "Because you shouldn't mess with love…and can I tell you a secret?"

Cat's only response was a warm smile and a head nod. Slowly, Robbie took a step forward and leaned down towards Cat ear. Before Robbie told his secret, he placed his right hand along Cat's neckline.

**THE BUZZ**

"What do you mean you never said it? You dated for like two years." Andre questioned as he paced back and forth and looked at Jade, who had her back against a locker. His voice was louder than necessary, mainly due to shock.

"I just…" Jade started, stopping momentarily to clear her throat. Her emotions were coming under her control again, but a rogue sob still snuck out from time to time. "I never did."

"Like," Andre started, rubbing one hand through his hair. "I saw you put that on The Slap one day…and Tori said you said it to Beck…" Jade stared at Andre with a slightly curious look. Realizing Jade wanted clarity, Andre continued, "The last time you got back together. You know with the dog incident and everything?"

"I never did," Jade said in a sad tone as she dropped her head to the ground. "I said nice things…the nicest things I ever said really. I was trying to get him back…but I never…" Jade immediately got hit with another pang of guilt, realizing she hadn't yet told Andre she had sold him out to Tori. Her mind was overflowing with thoughts and sporadic. Somehow, Andre's lessons on acting nice were having multiple side effects. Then again, if she immediately told Andre that the person that wrote the letter was Tori the problem would be solved. Still, guilt was what she felt and it amplified the sadness and anger inside her almost simultaneously. "God, you're such an asshole!" Jade continued in a shaky voice.

"What?" Andre asked as he moved his head back on his shoulders.

"Your help," Jade made sure to make air quotations around the work "help" as she stared fiercely at Andre. "Hasn't changed a thing. Besides give me the mindset of someone like Tori…to a point where I cry in public!"

After a second of silence, Andre broke off into laughter as he doubled over.

Jade's brow scrunched as her jaw dropped. To make matters worse, the mixture of emotions she was feeling resulted in her words coming out as a high pitched squeak. "It's not funny!"

"It is!" Andre retorted in between laughs. "And you sound like you're ten years old!"

"Shut-" Jade immediately stopped speaking when she heard her voice squeak again. Once she had cleared her throat, she made sure to speak in a lower tone than usual. "Shut. Up."

**THE BUZZ**

"Tori, let go!" The disapproval was apparent in Beck's voice. Regardless, Tori didn't listen to his request. Instead, she looked back momentarily to shoot him a stare. Tori's hand maintained a death grip on Beck's forearm when she turned her attention back towards the direction she was walking. Forgetting she had Beck in tow, Tori went back to scanning the hallways for signs of Andre and Jade. "Tori," Beck repeated, "For real…let me go."

Tori stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face Beck. "Are you going to come with me?"

Beck let out a sign as he rubbed his free hand over his face. "I don't care. I don't care what she's doing. I don't care who's she's with Tori. I don't care if it's Robbie, Andre, or some college kid. I really don't."

With a grunt, Tori let go off Beck's arm. Crossing her arms over her chest, Tori waited for Beck to meet eyes with her. Once he did Tori said, "You want to tell me that again…and look me in the eyes?"

Beck rolled his eyes as he placed one hand on his hip. It didn't take long for him to regain eye contact with Tori. It didn't take long for awkward silence to fall between them either. Beck let out another sigh as he dropped his head to the ground.

**THE BUZZ**

"Like this weekend?" Jade questioned as she stood up from against the locker. "Like drive-by acting?" Jade continued, to which Andre nodded his head.

"Unless you don't want the help," Andre replied, even though she had once again asked for it.

After rolling her eyes, Jade said, "I want it."

Andre nodded his head. A few seconds paused and Andre cleared his throat. "I love you Jade."

An uncomfortable look shot on Jade's face. The only thing she was able to do was let her eyes dance around her environment, and she wasn't able to make eye contact with Andre for me than a brief second. Finally, Jade replied. "Thanks…"

Andre rolled his head back on his shoulders and stared at the ceiling as he let out a chuckle. Within a second, Andre could feel Jade staring daggers through him.

"It's weird, okay?" Jade said in a voice that held much more force than necessary.

"Okay, okay," Andre said as he held out his right hand in front of him. Still, he wanted to make his point clear. "But for real…you go to Hollywood Arts…and you're a good actor. Don't take it so seriously. I'm not actually Beck…" Andre swallowed back hard as the death stare on Jade's face only intensified from his sarcasm. "Just," Andre started, pausing briefly to let out a flustered sigh. "Pretend it's a skit in class…or just a scene in a production."

A thousand rude replies crossed through Jade's mind. Regardless, none of her comebacks were uttered. She was beginning to understand herself better, thanks in part to her brief lessons from Andre. She knew why she was fuming with anger and one-liners. She was nervous and uncomfortable. Andre was only trying to help. There was no reason to be rude to Andre, he didn't deserve it.

Jade took in a deep breath before nodding her head. "Okay…I'll try." Andre returned the nod as a smile crossed his face. "Well, come here…" Jade continued.

"What?" Andre questioned.

"Come here." Jade repeated in a short tone as she motioned for Andre with her hand. "I'm not going to be saying this to Beck with…" Jade quickly scanned the distance between Andre and herself. "Five feet between us."

"Yeah," Andre agreed, but his voice was hesitant.

"Yeah?" Jade questioned, knowing Andre had more to say.

Taking the cue, Andre replied, "Yeah, but it's not easy for you…when I'm five feet away…is standing directly in front of you really going-"

"Look," Jade retorted, knowing exactly what Andre was getting at. "I've kissed on stage before. You, invading my personal space, is not nearly as big of a deal."

Andre nodded his head. "Okay…"

Both teenagers took a deep breath as Andre cut the distance between them to about a foot.

**THE BUZZ**

"I love you."

Gently, Robbie used his hand to turn Cat's face towards him. Even with his eyes closed, Robbie could feel Cat's body tense up as soon as their lips met. Just as quickly, Cat loosened up. Robbie's heart beat quickened as he felt her return the kiss. Everything slowed down. Time stood still. For one brief instant in time, everything was perfect. Robbie slowly slid his to a better position on Cat's neck as he deepened the kiss.

**THE BUZZ**

After what seemed like the tenth failed attempt in a row by Jade, Andre took a few steps away and began pacing.

"What are you doing?" Jade snapped in a frustrated voice, aided by the fact she was failing miserably at her newest lesson.

Andre rubbed his hand over his brow before turning back to Jade. "Do it now…" Andre stated, clearly meaning without him being in her personal space.

"Like I said, Beck is not-" Jade didn't get a chance.

"Yeah I know," Andre interrupted, as he took a few steps towards her. "Beck's not going to be five feet away…and you've kissed people on stage before."

Jade rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

"I understand that," Andre continued in a supportive voice. "This is…just a little more difficult for you…it's different."

Again, Jade bit her tongue as she nodded her head and stared off into the distance. "You're right." Jade replied as she looked at Andre. The slightly skeptical look on Andre's face irritating her further. "Okay, you're right…but you over there…staring at me is even worse."

"Will you just try it once?" Andre asked.

Not budging, Jade replied, "Just come here."

Andre let out his own sigh. "Just try it-"

"Just come here," Jade repeated, doing her best to keep her voice from coming out in a yell.

"Jade, just try it once like t-" Once again, Andre didn't finish his statement.

"Please!" Jade screamed, not intending her voice to come out so loud as her patience finally snapped. Quickly, she regained composure and lowered her voice. "Please Andre, just come here."

**THE BUZZ**

Beck and Tori's head both snapped at the loud sound. They couldn't make out what it said. Still, they both recognized it as Jade's voice. Making brief eye contact, they both began walking in the direction of the Jade's echo. Their pace quickened. Before long, Tori and Beck were both power walking down the hallway.

Excitement grew in Tori. It was a long hallway, but she knew they were near the library. All she had to do was get to the end of the hallway, turn the corner, and pounce. She had a strong feeling that Andre and Jade would be right around the corner.

**THE BUZZ**

"Okay," Andre said, more to himself, once he was back in front of Jade. A look of confusion came over his face as Jade grabbed his left hand and placed it on her hip. Without a word, Jade grabbed his right hand and moved it until it was wrapped around her torso and rested on the middle of her back. Andre's eyes grew slightly as he let out a deep breath. "Okay," Andre repeated, this time as a nervous twitch.

Andre's tone didn't go unnoticed by Jade as she shot him a serious look. "This," Jade said in a stern tone. "Is how I imagine it happening."

Andre nodded his head as he understood.

"We're acting right?" Jade questioned in a slightly annoyed tone. The question was rhetorical.

"Uhhh, yeah…" Andre replied and nodded his head again.

"Okay, then act…" Jade retorted.

Understanding what Jade meant, Andre nodded his head for a third time. Jade felt less awkward as soon as Andre loosened up and his hands became less rigid. For a brief second, Jade imagined it was actually Beck that was holding her. This made it much easier and less awkward. Closing her eyes, Jade did her best to stay focused. Not wanting Andre to stare at her, she requested the same from him. "Close your eyes, please…it'll help."

"Sure," Andre replied, actually happy that Jade was trying so hard. For a brief second, Andre imagined it was Tori that he was holding. This made it much less awkward.

**THE BUZZ**

"I know I've treated you like shit." Jade said, pausing slightly as she swallowed back hard. Even with his eyes closed, the amount of raw emotion in Jade's voice struck Andre to his core. "But I…I… love you." Jade had to pause again, only briefly, to regain control over her trembling voice. Finally, she finished her statement. "I'm in love with you."

"I love you too." Andre replied in a proud voice, which could easily have been mistaken for exuberance or elation.

Andre and Jade's eyes snapped open. It took half a second to register the sound as a scoff. Next, their heads snapped towards the location of the sound.

Immediately breaking the embrace between Andre and herself, Jade's eyes widened as she stared at Beck and Tori.

"You know," Beck said in a raspy voice as he stared off into the distance. Finally, he shifted his glossy eyes back towards Jade and made eye contact. "I was just starting think you were incapable of saying that."

Everything happened too quickly. A million things happened at once. Andre turned his body towards Tori and Beck as he shot both hands up to his head. Andre's breathing immediately became uneven as he stared at Tori and the look on her face. Jade's breathing became uneven as well as her eyes darted between Beck and Tori. Tori's urge to attack Jade quickly escaped her. Tori stood there fighting the stinging at the corner of her eyes as she felt like her body weighed a ton. Beck's urge to yell, punch Andre, or cry were overpowered by the pain in his chest.

"It's," Jade started, her voice coming out desperate. "It's not what it looks like."

Tori replied before Beck could, and the pain in her voice rivaled Jade's. "You win."

Immediately, the meaning of Tori's words sunk in and Jade felt horrible. Andre spoke before anyone else could next, and the pain was just as apparent in his voice. "Tori, listen-"

"We don't want to listen." Beck snapped, cutting off Andre's words.

About five seconds passed, then the starter horn went off. Everyone immediately split. Beck headed for the nearest staircase, which was only about 30 feet away. Jade followed behind and she begged him to stop and let her explain. Tori immediately turned around, and began running back down the hallway she came from. Andre pursued, as he begged Tori to stop and let him explain.

**THE BUZZ**

Once Robbie had returned to standing completely upright, he took a few deep breaths. Cat's expression was unreadable. After a few seconds of silence, Robbie decided to break the awkwardness. "Ummm, this is probably where you run away screaming…"

Cat's eyes grew wide and for a second Robbie thought she would take his advice. Cat's mouth fell open as her eyes darted between Robbie and her general surroundings. She had a thousand replies, but none of them were coherent and they jumbled together. She felt a dozen different emotions, and while they were all positive she wasn't able to voice them. Luckily, she didn't have as many actions and one was perfectly clear.

Taking a quick step forward, Cat shot both hands up to Robbie's neck. Standing on her tip toes, Cat crashed her lips onto Robbie's with more force than he had. For a brief second, Robbie began to back out of the embrace solely from shock. Still, he quickly regained his bearings. Robbie deepened the kiss even more as his hands found themselves on Cat's hips. Robbie gave Cat permission, but he was ecstatic she hadn't ran away screaming. For a second time, everything was perfect.


	10. Irony

The Buzz

Chapter 10

Irony

Jade did her best to keep up with Beck. Still, it led to Jade having to almost jog to keep up with Beck's longer strides. All of her attempts to get Beck to stop, or at least slow down and talk failed. Luckily, Jade was able to gain some ground as Beck's pace slowed as he opened the door that led out to the parking lot. Squeezing through, Jade managed to cross the threshold before the door closed.

"Beck, please," Jade exclaimed, slightly out of breath. "Let me explain!"

Beck offered no response as he spotted his car and continued walking. Knowing she was running out of time, Jade ran until she was in front of him. Spinning around, Jade placed both of her hands on his chest. Finally, Beck stopped walking.

"Please Beck," Jade said in a sad voice. "Let me explain."

"No need," Beck retorted, as he shrugged his head back towards the school. "Actions speak louder…and you made it perfectly-"

"No," Jade interrupted, "You didn't see it right Beck. I swear that-"

"Swear what Jade?" Beck replied in an angry voice. "Swear that I _didn't _just see you and Andre say you were in love with each other? Swear that I didn't see you guys…on top of each other?"

"Beck," Jade replied in a tone barely above a whisper.

"Thank God I showed up when I did," Beck's voice dripped with sarcasm, but it still didn't mask the hurt. "If I was a few seconds later I would have got to see you two make out…and then I would really be upset." Beck spun on his heels and took a few steps away from Jade. Pacing for a moment, Beck ran his hands through his hair before he finally retook his position in front of Jade.

"What hurts the most Jade…isn't the break-up. I mean yeah that hurts too…not that you would know…but you can take my word for it." Beck took a deep breath. He saw the tears now freely falling from Jade's face but they didn't affect him. He had spent two years with Jade, and cried more tears than he cared to admit over her cold attitude. Tears after two years was too little, too late.

"What hurts the most," Beck continued, "Is that I spent two years…never pressuring you to open up…never pressuring you to tell me how you felt…and I got nothing…not that I asked for it."

"Beck, I want to give you everything!" Jade swallowed back hard as she stared at Beck. "I can explain everything that happened with Andre. It's not what you think…"

"It doesn't matter," Beck said as he dropped his eyes.

"It does matter," Jade exclaimed as she took a step closer to Beck. Slowly, she reached out and wrapped her hand around Beck's forearm. "If it didn't matter you wouldn't be acting like this!."

Beck shot his eyes back up to look at Jade. He allowed her hand to remain on his arm, but it felt as if it was burning his skin. Rolling his eyes, Beck let out a scoff. "Wow, Jade West picking up on social cues…amazing…"

Beck's words cut deep. Still, Jade didn't pay them any mind. She was more worried about explaining herself and undoing the damage Andre and her had done. Not knowing how much longer she would have an opportunity to talk, Jade blurted out the truth. "Andre and me…it was acting…it wasn't real…"

Silence fell between the two teenagers after Jade was done speaking. Beck dropped his eyes and pulled his arm away from Jade's grasp. Jade didn't fight it and allowed her arm to drop back to her own side.

"I don't believe that," Beck replied, meeting eyes with Jade. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

"I know it does," Jade replied, her voice filling with panic as Beck stepped around her and headed towards his car. "But I'm telling the truth Beck."

"Yep," Beck replied with obvious sarcasm.

Jade turned her body, but didn't follow after Beck. "It was acting!"

Jade held her breath as Beck came to a stop. Looking over his shoulder, Beck replied, "Is that what the last two years were?"

Jade's mouth dropped opened. Immediately, she felt nauseous. Did Beck really think everything between them wasn't real? Then again, could she blame him? The only thing that came to her mind was the truth. Fighting against the sobs, Jade exclaimed. "I love you!"

The look on Beck's face was unreadable. Jade waited a few seconds to let him reply. After time had passed, she continued. "Beck, I'm in love with you."

Slowly, Beck started clapping. Once he stopped, his only reply was, "Bravo…I almost believed that."

She didn't think it was possible, but the nauseous feeling grew in her stomach as she watched Beck get in his car and drive off.

**THE BUZZ**

The last thing on Earth Tori wanted was to talk to Andre. She had made her way down both flights of stairs and was running out of real estate. Andre was more athletic and quicker, and it was only a matter of time until he caught up. Tori panicked and looked down the hallway as she heard Andre's footsteps from above getting louder. Her feet had led her down the staircase near the entrance to the auditorium, which was on the first floor. She had three options. Still, neither the auditorium door, the door that led outside, or the door that led to a hallway of Hollywood Arts seemed like a valid option. Either way, Andre would hear which way she went and catch her.

"Tori," Andre's voice could be heard echoing down the hallway as he started down the last staircase. "Please stop. We need to talk!"

Tori's eyes immediately fell on a moveable closet that was positioned beside the door to the auditorium. She had been in enough school productions to know that those moveable closets typically held wardrobes, and sometimes props. Regardless, those closets had more than enough room to fit a petite female assuming they weren't packed with clothing. Quickly, Tori opened the closet. Letting out a grumble once she saw that at least half of the closet was filled with wardrobes, Tori did her best to shove her body inside the closet. It wasn't nearly as hard as she imagined as the clothes gave way and she managed to fit. Closing the door as quickly as possible, she prayed that Andre still hadn't turned the last corner.

"Tori," Andre said as he finally made his way down the last few stairs. Tori held her breath as she heard Andre's slightly muffled voice. The clothes only acted as a slight sound dampener, but Tori was still able to hear Andre panting as he tried to catch his breath.

Andre knew his surroundings, and he hadn't heard a door open. It didn't make sense. He thought he was right behind, and if so he should have heard which way she went. The only logical explanation was Tori was quicker than he gave her credit…or she vanished.

"What is she Houdini?" Andre said in an irritated voice. After scanning his immediate area and making sure Tori had vanished, Andre sat down on the staircase and let out a giant sigh. "Well, that went great Andre. Good job."

Tori gritted her teeth as she heard Andre's inner monologue. Part of her wanted to start crying again, and part of her wanted to step out of her hiding place and slap Andre. It seemed those two emotions were popping up a lot lately. Eventually, Tori realized Andre wasn't making any sounds. Again, Tori held her breath as she hoped Andre wasn't onto her. For some reason, she could see Andre slowly sneaking up to the closet in her head, about to swing the doors open at any moment.

**THE BUZZ**

Jade was only a few steps from the door that led back inside when her phone went off. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she dug her phone out of her pocket. She honestly didn't feel like talking to anyone, but considering the situation knew she should answer Andre's call. Jade took a brief second to make sure she was composed before answering the phone.

_"Hey,"_

_"Jade…ummm…did you find Beck?"_

_"Yup"_

_"Uhh…where is he?"_

_"Gone,"_

_"What?"_

_"He left."_

_"He left?"_

_"Yes Andre," _Jade spat in an angry tone, more upset at the situation than her friend. _"He literally got in his car…and drove away. You know, it's not like we have classes or anything."_

_"I'm sorry…"_

"_Uhhhh…just…where are you at? Did you find Tori?"_

_"No…she literally vanished. Maybe I didn't move fast enough…or…I don't know…."_

Quickly growing irritated, Jade cut to the point. "_Where are you at?"_

_"Staircase…right by the entrance to the auditorium."_

_"Be there in a minute."_

Jade hung up her phone without waiting for a reply.

**THE BUZZ**

The anger inside of Jade was gone by the time she saw Tori. Without a word, Jade took a seat beside Andre and stared at the wall directly in front of them. Letting out a sigh, Jade remained silent. She didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure if it was a result of Andre's "lessons", or the fact the brief walk from the parking lot to the auditorium allowed the anger to be replaced by sadness, but the prevalent emotion beside pity for herself was empathy for Andre. It was obvious on Andre's face that he was devastated.

"Well," Jade said after about a minute, finally breaking the silence. Additionally, she tried to offer a small smile to ease the mood as Andre made eye contact with her. "I finally told Beck."

Andre gave her a confused look, not understanding her statement. When he finally deciphered the meaning, his eyes grew a little. "Really?"

Jade nodded.

**THE BUZZ**

Life was great. Literally, with plenty of sarcasm included, Tori could die happy at this exact moment. First, Andre starts lying to her. Then, Jade seduces him. Even worse, Tori didn't take the chance to actually rip Jade's hair out when she had it. Fourth, she witnessed her nemesis and the man she loved admit their love for each other. Now, she was stuck in a wardrobe closet, and she still wasn't adjusted to the smell of old sweat on most of the clothing that was pressed against her. Lastly, Jade and Andre were right outside of the wardrobe, no more than ten feet away.

Tori didn't know how it could get any worse The icing on the cake was the impending muffled sounds of lips smacking together. Maybe, if she was extra lucky, she would catch a few moans and other types of "smacking together" that would scar her forever. After all, the late nights at Jade's house likely included plenty of that. Tori wanted to scream, and she wanted to jump out of the closet and attack Jade. Still, her curiosity got the best of her. Jade and Andre had no idea she was there and everything they were about to say was candid. Her heart was probably going to break, but she would rather know the complete and total truth.

**THE BUZZ**

"I'm…guessing he wasn't excited?" Andre asked.

Jade let out a scoff mixed with a laugh as she shook her head. "No…excited is not the word."

"I'm sorry," Andre said after a moment. Throwing his nearest hand up for a brief second, he repeated himself. "I'm sorry Jade…beyond that…I don't know what to say."

"It's my fault." Jade said, refusing to make eye contact as she fought against tears demanding to run down her face. "Everything is…I mean how do you expect Beck to take me saying I'm in love with him a minute after he heard me say it to you?"

Andre's only reply shaking his head. Immediately after, he placed his hands over his face as he rested his elbows on his knees.

"I even told him it was acting," Jade continued.

Snapping his head up, Andre asked, "I thought you didn't want anyone to know about-"

"I didn't," Jade replied, not letting Andre finished but fully knowing what he meant. "But I would rather come clean…even though it's embarrassing….than lose Beck forever." Barely above a whisper, Jade finished by saying, "Not that it matters now."

"Yeah," Andre said, once again placing his elbows on top of his knees. "Did you…did you get a chance to explain the lessons to him? Like…exactly what was-"

"No," Jade said in a sad voice.

"Ohhh…" Andre replied as he dropped his head.

Jade swallowed back hard. "I got as far as telling him it was acting. Then, Beck said he basically thought our relationship was just acting…at least on my part."

"Ohhh," Andre mumbled, sympathy clear in his voice.

"Then," Jade embellished, "I told him I was in love with him. Then…he clapped…said I was still acting…and got in his car and left."

Andre's eyes fully displayed his sympathy as he looked at Jade. Still, Jade's disclosure left him not knowing what to say. "Ouch."

"Yeah," Jade mimicked as she dropped her head, "Ouch."

More than a minute passed in complete silence between the two teenagers. Eventually, it got to a point where they took turns letting out sighs. A few times, Andre started to say something but immediately stopped. It seemed the situation was beyond words. Finally, Jade snapped up to her feet and began pacing as she let out a grunt.

"The worst part," Jade said in a loud voice as she turned back around to look at Andre. "There is no possible way to fix this!"

Standing up, Andre held out his right hand as if to tell Jade to slow down. "Don't say that…don't say there is no way to fix this."

"There isn't Andre," Jade snapped. "I tried to tell Beck the truth…he didn't believe it. Tori isn't going to believe it. They would have to be crazy to actually believe the truth!"

Andre shook his head. Taking a step closer, Andre tried to instill hope in Jade. "Beck will believe you. We just need to give him time…let him cool down…then we can try to tell him-"

"First off," Jade retorted as she cut off Beck. "You are stupid…because you still think this is just about Beck and me. You still don't get it!"

"Get what?" Andre questioned.

"Why do you think Tori was just as upset as Beck was?!" Jade exclaimed. A slight hesitation on Andre's part was all she needed to continue uninhibited. "Nope, I'm not even going to go there right now…and I don't feel like hearing your 'because Beck was upset' response Andre."

Slightly confused, Andre dropped his head.

"Okay," Jade said, pausing momentarily to take a deep breath. "I'm sorry for getting loud and screaming at you…but the important thing I'm trying to say is this…ready?"

Andre nodded, accepting Jade's half-hearted apology. She was still Jade after all. "Yeah, go ahead…"

"Okay," Jade said taking a step closer. "Put yourself in Beck or Tori's shoes okay. We go up and tell them…hey what really happened is I approached Andre because I wanted to quit being a bitch to Beck and everyone else…and Andre is nice. I asked him to 'teach' me how to be nice…and learn to have a filter…show emotion…and not freak out and yell over every little thing."

Andre let out a sigh. The point was already made. Jade was now beating a dead horse.

"So, he started coming over my house and teaching me how to be nicer. Okay? Now…flash forward until today. I realized that I had never told Beck I loved him…so I dragged Andre to a remote area with no one around to hear…because I'm embarrassed I'm having to get taught how to be nice and have emotion after all."

"I get it Jade," Andre replied.

Jade didn't listen nor stop her rant. "So, we decided to…practice…me telling Beck I loved him…you know, like acting class…but I sucked at it…so we kept trying, and trying, and trying. We got it right though…right as you two walked around the corner."

Andre dropped his head. No reply was necessary.

Jade began pacing again. Throwing up her arms, she continued her tangent. "Which is funny…because you saw Andre and me say we loved each other…and it was way out of context! The thing is…I'm hopelessly in love with you Beck…and hey Tori…you see Andre…he's hopelessly in love with you. Ahhh, irony…"

"Jade," Andre said in a low voice, attempting to get her to stop.

"The worst part Andre," Jade said, "It's the truth…and there is no way in hell they-"

Andre and Jade's eyes snapped towards the sound. Both of their eyes grew as they witnessed Tori step out of the wardrobe closet. Andre's mouth dropped open as Tori eyes darted between himself and Jade. He prayed she couldn't hear everything clearly from inside the closet, especially that last part. Still, the way she popped out said otherwise. If Tori wanted to run from him before, Andre knew she would sprint away from him now and never look back.

"Really," Jade muttered to herself, "She just _vanished _he says."

"Jade," Tori squeaked out as she tried not to let her bottom lip quiver. "I'm really, really sorry…"

Jade cocked her head slightly as she looked at Tori. "I'm sorry t-"

"But that can wait," Tori replied quickly.

Tori made it to Andre in a split second, throwing her right arm around his neck as she stopped her momentum by placing her left hand on his chest. Tori crashed her lips onto Andre's before he could react. Instinctively, Tori's arm snaked around the back of Andre's neck and pulled him tighter to deepen the kiss. The shock wore off and Andre immediately reciprocated. Andre's right hand found its place firmly against the side of Tori's neck, and his left hand grasped Tori's hip firmly as he pulled Tori into his body.

After a second, Tori broke the kiss. Resting her forehead against Andre's, she quickly said, "Andre, I love you," before bringing Andre into another passionate kiss. Andre was ready this time, and immediately returned the affection. It took half a second for Tori's word to register, but once they did Andre ended the embrace. Leaving his right hand motionless, Andre brought his left hand up to the other side of Tori's neck. Tori's eyes fluttered shut for a instant as she moved her head and neck slightly towards the sensation of Andre's left hand coming in contact with her skin.

"Tori," Andre whispered, but Tori was still able to hear clearly. "I love you."

Tori's face grew into a smile. She attempted to reply, but got no further than "I love" before she cut her statement short to return Andre's kiss. Tori's hands immediately found a new resting place as she ended up grabbing Andre's belt with both hands. Tori focused on pulling their hips closer together by her stranglehold on Andre's belt as his hands remained on her neck. A small moan escaped Andre's mouth and made Tori suddenly aware of exactly where her hands were placed. This didn't stopped the young female. Tori made sure to keep her left hand's death grip on Andre's belt as her right hand slowly made its way up Andre's midsection and chest.

Jade's scoff brought both teenagers back to reality. Neither one of them could manage to take their hands off of each other, but they ended the kiss and both looked at their friend. Almost instantly, when the sensation of kissing his dream girl went away, a lightbulb in Andre's head went off.

"Oh my God," Andre exclaimed, "It makes sense."

Jade uncrossed her hands from in front of her chest. Next, she motioned with both hands towards Tori and then Andre. "Girl who writes a letter to her best friend about being in love with him…meet boy who replies to his best friends letter with advice about how he _used _to be in love with her."

Tori snapped her head to look at Andre, and the back to Jade.

"In case you still don't get it," Jade started in a sarcastic voice, "You were talking about each other."

Removing his eyes from Jade, Andre turned his attention back to the beautiful woman in front of him as he dropped his hands from her neck down to her waist. "We…we're kind of stupid."

Tori let out a laugh as she nodded her head. Turning her attention back towards Jade, she gave the apology another shot. "Jade, I really am sorry…I shouldn't have thought it was some trick you-"

"Stop," Jade hastened, "You did…and if I were you I would have too. Just understand I'm actually making an effort to change and it's not a trick."

"I do now," Tori said in a serious voice.

"Okay good," Jade said.

"I'm really sorry that-" Tori tried to reemphasize but got caught off by Jade.

"Please," Jade said in a slightly harsh tone. "I appreciate it…still not good at this mushy stuff…but thanks."

Tori nodded her head. The embrace between Andre and Tori finally ended as Jade began to walk away. Both teenagers turned to their friend in confusion.

"Jade," Andre questioned, taking a step forward. "Where are you going?"

"In case you didn't realize," Jade replied, "We are kind of skipping class right now. I'm pretty sure everyone has forgot except me. Go back to kissing…I got to get to History of Theatre and think of a way to get my boyfriend back."


End file.
